


Overheated

by motherbearof3



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Beach House, Car Trouble, F/M, Fluff, Road Trips, Romance, Sharing a Bed, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-03
Updated: 2018-07-08
Packaged: 2019-05-17 17:40:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 24,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14836194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/motherbearof3/pseuds/motherbearof3
Summary: Noah and Jesse are driving to meet their parents for a week at the beach during spring break but car troubles slow them down.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I've never attempted writing a trope before and of course I have to go and do it for a brand new couple in the fandom. But I've had Noah and Jesse paired off since she was born on the show and the prompt, “Jess, we’ve been sharing a bed since you were in diapers." just came to me about a month ago so I decided to give it a go.
> 
> I amused myself immensely writing this, and I hope you enjoy it. Thanks to both theoofoof and adrianna_m_scovill for their beta skills and to everyone on twitter that brainstormed with me to get this started after I was stuck.
> 
> As always, these are not my original characters, I just like writing about them.

Rafael Barba glanced at his watch for what was possibly the fourth time in the last thirty minutes. Then he looked at the other three people sitting around the table on the expansive deck looking out at the Atlantic Ocean, with whom he was having post dinner drinks.

“They should have been here by now,” he said.

They were Noah and Jesse. He was in his second year at Harvard Law School and she was a senior at Columbia. The other people with him were Olivia, his wife of nearly twenty years and Jesse’s parents, Amanda Rollins-Carisi and Dominick “Sonny” Carisi. The young people were joining their parents for a week at the beach over spring break, the latter having arrived the day before. It was Olivia’s idea to invite Amanda and Sonny to join them at the beach house for the week since the kids were coming as well. Rafael had to be convinced that there was plenty of bedrooms and bathrooms in the large rental, but still wasn’t that interested in sharing space with another couple.

“Rafa, you’ve said that already,” Olivia said. “They’ll be here when they get here. They are two grown adults; perfectly capable of navigating a car from New York City to the Outer Banks.”

“But it will be dark soon,” he said, looking out at the darkening sky over the water. “And you know that Noah doesn’t drive a lot.”

Even at 24, their son was a typical city dweller. He had a driver’s license and a car, but generally used public transportation and took the train back and forth between their home in New York and Cambridge, Massachusetts where he went to school.

“Which is why Jesse said she was going to do most of the driving,” Amanda informed him. Her daughter, although three years younger, was by far a more experienced driver. She’d been driving herself back and forth to visit her grandmother and aunt in Georgia since she turned eighteen. Amanda had complete confidence in Jesse’s ability to get her and Noah there.

Olivia took his hand and stood. “Come on, let’s take a walk on the beach.”

“I don’t want sand in my shoes,” he protested with a scowl.

“Take them off.” She tugged on his hand. “Let’s go. We’re on vacation for heaven's sake. The kids will probably be here by the time we get back.”

“Go on, Your Honor,” said Carisi. “Amanda and I will be here if the kids arrive. Although we might be trying out the hot tub.” He winked at his wife.

Rafael didn’t disguise his eye roll while he pulled off his canvas shoes. Then he pointed a finger at the attorney.

“You are _only_ allowed to call me that when you’re in my courtroom, counselor.”

He followed Olivia down the stairs to the sand and had to admit it didn’t feel too bad. At the end of March, the evening was cool enough they needed sweaters, but warm enough going barefoot wasn’t unpleasant. She threaded her fingers through his and bumped her shoulder into his. Without shoes, they were about even in height.

“You know he only calls you that because he admires you. He always has,” she said gently.

“I know,” he grumbled. Then he looked at his watch, squinting to make out the time in the semi-darkness. “I’m calling Noah when we get back if he and Jesse aren’t here by then.”

At that moment, the two young people were having a similar conversation.

“Do you think we should call our parents?” Noah asked, watching Jesse finish replace the lug nuts on the left rear wheel of his car in the fading daylight.

“Just put the tire in the trunk, Barba,” she said, blowing her bangs out of her face and looking very much like her mother.

She watched him out of the corner of her eye as he easily hefted the damaged tire and walked around the rear of his car. He may not know how to change a tire but he had no problem lifting it, she thought, looking at the muscles in his arms and shoulder move under his t shirt. Jesse used the back of her hand to push her hair away from her face, wishing she’d put it in a ponytail before starting her task and tightened the last nut as Noah closed the trunk.

“Done,” she declared, standing up and brushing her hands on her jeans. “Think you can do it next time?”

“There won’t be a next time.”

“If you don’t pay attention to your car, there will be. Geez, Noh, you have this fancy car that tells you when there’s low tire pressure.”

“I did put air in it.”

“How many times?” she asked, opening the car door and carefully rummaging around in her bag for something to wipe the grease and dirt from her hands, hoping she wasn’t spreading it around the inside of her new Vera Bradley in the process. “From the looks of the nail in the tire, it’s been there for a while.”

“Here.” He held out his handkerchief.

Jesse took it and as she wiped her hands said, “How come you always have one of these? Isn’t that like an old guy thing?”

Noah did always have one; as far back as she could remember, probably starting in his teens. She could remember him pulling it out to wipe her knee after she’d crashed and burned trying to rollerblade in the park. And again to dry her angry tears after a boy she liked in high school stood her up and she saw him with another girl the same night. He walked around to the driver’s side of the car and looked down the road for oncoming traffic. Seeing none, he opened the door and motioned for her to come get in. She did and he closed the door, returning to the passenger side and climbing in beside her.

“A handkerchief? I don’t know.” He shrugged. “Dad always has one and when I was little I asked if I could have one too -- you know, to be like him. He gave me one of his and then for my thirteenth birthday he bought me ones of my own. Monogrammed, just like his.”

Noah smiled and pointed out the letters on the square of fabric she had handed back to him: a large B with an N and P on either side embroidered in blue. She returned his smile but it froze when he reached out his hand for her face. His thumb rubbed her cheekbone.

“You had a smudge.”

He withdrew his hand and reached for his seatbelt, buckling it across his chest. Jesse busied herself with her own, hoping the flush she felt on her face could be attributed to the exertion of changing the tire.

“We lost almost an hour with that stop,” she said once she’d merged the car back into traffic. “You should call your parents now. We’re going to be even later than we told them.”

“I’m not the one who wasn’t done packing,” he said.

“I’m not the one who insisted we stop to eat!” she retorted.

“There’s no eating in my car, Rollins. I’ve seen the inside of yours from you eating while you drive.”

“I told you, that was one time. And it was because I had to slam on the brakes that my fries went everywhere,” Jesse said defensively. “Would you rather I rear end someone?”

“If you weren’t eating while you were driving, you would have noticed the car had stopped.”

“I’ve told you, Barba, I wasn’t eating. The food was in a bag on the passenger seat.”

It was not the first time they’d had this conversation and it always ended in a hung jury.

Jesse huffed. “Just call your parents and let them know we’re going to be later than we expected. Feel free to add that _I_ changed the flat tire.”

The blonde reached over and tapped a button on the console and music filled the car. She did like driving Noah’s ride. It was newer and had more bells and whistles than hers. But her pickup had character. She found it one summer when she was visiting her grandmother in Atlanta. It only had an AM radio and a cassette deck. Noah was always telling her to replace it with a better radio but that would take away from the character, she told him. So she contented herself with a bluetooth speaker connected to her phone when she wanted music. He turned the radio down and she gave him a look. “Hey!”

“I’m calling my parents, Jess. I’ll turn it back up after.”

He pressed the icon on his phone pre-programmed to call his Dad’s number, expecting to hear his voice on the second ring. He was surprised when it went to voicemail.

“Hi, Dad. Hey, we had a flat and had to put on the spare. Well, Jesse is the one who did it.” She gave him a satisfied smirk. “Anyway, since we got a later start than we expected now we’re running even later. I’ll call again when we’re closer -- what?”

He stopped talking when Jesse swore loudly. She pointed to the dash where both the check engine light and the temperature gauge light were on. He returned to the call. “Gotta go, Dad. Something’s wrong with the car.”

Olivia and Rafael had turned around and were making their way back to the rental house. The moon had risen and was reflecting off the waves. The tide was out, so the sound of the water lapping the shore was quiet.

“Maybe we should buy one,” she mused. They had gone from holding hands to having an arm around each other’s waists and were walking more slowly.

“Buy one what? One of these?” Rafael waved his free hand toward the row of large beach houses. “This is a little far for weekend trips, isn’t it?”

“It is. What about something in the Hamptons though? Or Martha’s Vineyard? It would just be nice to have a place to go to get out of the city.”

“What? Olivia Barba is tired of the city?” he teased.

Before she could answer, they saw a figure coming down the sand toward them. Not quite running, but moving with purpose.

“Your-Rafael! Lieu!” called Carisi. It didn’t matter that she’d been retired as Captain of the SVU unit for more than ten years and he had traded the squad room for a courtroom at about the same time, he still called her Lieu, which made her smile.

“Almost sixty years old and he still looks like he doesn’t know what to do with his arms and legs,” Rafael said with a snort.

Olivia poked him in the side, “Hush. It’s hard to move quickly on sand.”

The tall lawyer caught up with them and held out a cell phone. “Noah called. But we didn’t hear it right away. He left you a message.”

Rafael took the phone and queued up the voicemail, holding it to his ear. “They had a flat.” Then his eyes grew wide. “Something’s wrong with the car.”

“What?” asked his wife. “Put it on speaker.”

He did as she asked and the three listened to Noah’s message.

“That’s my girl,” said Carisi when Noah mentioned about Jesse changing the tire. Then they all heard her expletives and Noah saying he’d call back. Carisi looked sheepish at the words his daughter used. “She learned those from her mother.”

“Let’s get back to the house and call them back and see what’s going on,” said Olivia.

Back at the beach house they played the message for Amanda, who pursed her lips at her daughter’s choice of words. “Can’t be good if she said that,” she commented.

It wasn’t good and Jesse was on the brink of using those words again.

Once again they were on the side of the road.

“Pop the hood,” she’d instructed a few minutes earlier and he leaned across into the driver's seat and pulled the lever. Then he got out of the car to join her at the front of the vehicle. When she reached to unlatch it, he pushed her hand away. Small tendrils of steam were curling out from under the hood. Who knew what would happen when it was opened completely.

“I’ll do it. Don’t want you to get burned,” Noah said.

He pulled the handkerchief from his pocket and folded it to protect his fingertips as he reached in the space to find the latch. A cloud of steam made them both take a step back as he gently lifted the hood. Once it dissipated a bit, she stepped closer, looking to see if there was a broken hose or a visible leak. But it was nearly dark and she couldn’t see much.

“Can you turn on the light on your phone, please?”

Noah did, and aimed it where her finger pointed. No hoses were broken or leaking from the top.

“Shine it at the ground, underneath a little,” Jesse instructed and got on her hands and knees to see if anything was dripping onto the graveled berm. It was dry. The only thing she could conclude was the car was out of coolant. As she moved to stand back up, Noah looked away lest he be caught looking at her denim clad bottom that had been pointed skyward and illuminated by the headlights. She was angry enough about the car.

“Noah, what the hell!” she said, throwing her hands up in the air before running them through her blonde locks. “Have you ever put coolant in this thing? Or had the fluids checked?”

“Fluids. You mean like windshield wiper fluid? The blue stuff? Yeah, I’ve refilled that.”

“What about coolant? Antifreeze? Have you ever seen a light that said low coolant?”

The LOW COOLANT light had flickered for a millisecond when she started the car after changing the tire, but she hadn’t given it a thought at the time since it hadn’t stayed on.

“Geez, Jess, I don’t know. You know I hardly drive this car at all. It sits in the garage at mom and dad’s most of the time.”

“I knew we should have brought mine. Even if it doesn’t have a good sound system,” she said, mentally calculating how long it would take for the engine to cool enough they could add some of the water they had in the car and then how far that would get them. Definitely not all the way to the Outer Banks. They needed to find a store that sold coolant.

While she was doing the math and Noah was wondering what she was thinking about, the phone in his hand rang, making them both jump. Looking at the screen, he saw his dad's smiling face from the two of them at his college graduation. Wincing, because he knew what was coming, he answered the call.

“ _Hola, Papi_.”

“Don’t _hola Papi_ , me, _mijo,_ ” came the sharp reply. “What’s wrong with the car? You didn’t get in an accident did you?”

“No, no. It’s just overheated. Jesse thinks it’s out of coolant.”

“Where are you?” Rafael asked his son.

“Put him on speaker,” whispered Jesse, who had been looking at maps on her own phone. Then she said, “Hi, Uncle Rafa. We’re around Virginia Beach.”

“Jesse, _carino_ , are you all right?” His tone immediately softened.

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. _She_ was the one who changed the flat tire and _she_ was the one who knew how to get them off the side of the road a second time and he asked if _she_ was all right. But she knew that’s just how her Uncle Rafa was.

“Yes, we’re fine. The engine is cooling off. Then we can put some water in it and it will get us to a store where we can buy some coolant,” she explained. “It looks like you’re only about two and a half hours from here. It will be late, but we should get there tonight.”

There was the sound of the phone changing hands and then a new voice came on the line.

“Jess, you have everything under control?” It was Carisi.

“Hi, Dad. Yeah, we’re good. The engine is probably cool enough now I can add some water and then we’ll go find some coolant,” she told him.

“Okay, baby. Call me if you have any questions.”

“I will, Dad.”

“Love you, Jess.”

“Love you too. Bye.” She ended the call and handed the phone back to Noah.

“Let’s put some water in this thing and get the hell off the side of the road.”

Two bottles of water later, Jesse declared the car should be okay to drive a little further to the next exit on the highway. She kept her speed a little under the limit and the car appeared to be doing okay, not showing any warning lights except the LOW COOLANT one. She got off of the highway at the next opportunity, keeping her eyes peeled for any place that might sell coolant.

“There’s an auto parts store!” Noah pointed. “But it’s closed. Damn.”

“Well it is a Sunday,” she reminded him as they drove past several more possibilities that were also closed.

They found two stores that were open 24 hours but neither had coolant.

“It’s like there’s a shortage or something,” Jesse lamented after the second strike out.

“How much more should we be driving around?”

“Probably not much,” Jesse admitted. She had been confident they’d get coolant and be on their way. That was looking less likely.

“Why don’t we just get a room, spend the night and get the stuff in the morning when the stores open?” he suggested. “We’ll be at the beach house by lunch.”

The blonde beside him didn’t want to admit defeat, but it looked like Noah was right. The car really needed to cool down completely and get some actual coolant in it, if they had any hope of driving it further. Not to mention it was dark now and she was tired of driving. And hungry. Their stop to eat was several hours behind them. She nodded.

“Okay. Let’s find a motel.”

What both of them had forgotten was while they were on spring break, most of the country was as well and they were in a beach town. So not only had they struck out finding coolant, they were striking out finding a place to spend the night.

“Noh, we really need to stop driving the car,” Jesse said after the sixth place said they had no vacancies.

“I know, Jess,” he replied.

Noah knew Jesse considered herself a strong, capable woman but he had known her long enough to hear the tiredness and bit of fear in her voice. He hoped the next place they stopped had a room. Otherwise, they’d be sleeping in the car; a thought he really didn’t want to entertain. She pulled the car into yet another motel parking lot, illuminated by the blue neon of the sign and sighed as she put it into park. As she did, the CHECK ENGINE light came on and her sigh changed to a small whimper. He reached over and put his hand over hers where it lay on the gearshift between them.

“Stay here, I’ll go. Say a prayer.” And he was out of the car and walking toward the door lettered with the words MAIN OFFICE.

She did say a prayer. More than one. She was tired, hungry and afraid something really bad was happening under the hood of the car. He was away longer than he had been at any of the other places, and a bit of hope blossomed in her chest. Putting her head back against the seat, she closed her eyes. Suddenly the door opened and she jumped.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” said Noah.

“Well?” Jesse asked and her eyes widened when he extended an arm, dangling a key in front of her. “Yes!”

”Room 28. My lucky number,” he told her.

“You don’t have a lucky number, Barba,” she laughed, getting out of the car and shouldering her purse.

“I do now.” Noah joined in her laughter as he got their suitcases from the trunk.

The room was on the second floor of the two story building. They trudged up the steps and down the exterior hallway nearly to the end. Noah inserted the key into the lock and pushed the door open. They were met with the smell of cleaning products and fresh laundry, which made Noah feel better. The motel itself was older and showing wear on the outside. Jesse reached for the light switch on the wall and illuminated a standard motel room with a small desk, a dresser and a television on the wall above it facing a double bed.

“There’s only one bed,” she groaned, letting go of the handle of her rolling suitcase so it hit the thin carpet with a thud.

“Jess, we’ve been sharing a bed since you were in diapers,” said Noah. “I’m not sleeping on the floor. And neither are you,” he added when she opened her mouth to argue.

“Whatever, Barba. I’m getting a shower,” she said shortly, grabbing the handle of her bag and pulled it into the bathroom with her, closing the door firmly to punctuate her statement.

She didn’t need to lock it. It was Noah for pete’s sake, not one of the creepy guys on her dorm floor. But if she was honest, that was part of the reason for her annoyance. Turning on the water in the tub with more force than was necessary, Jesse began to undress. They weren’t little anymore. It wouldn’t be like her mom putting her in Noah’s bed next to him after they both fell asleep on the floor watching a movie instead of waking her up to go home. They were very much grown up and to her dismay she was pretty sure he hadn’t noticed, even though she certainly had. Since Noah had gone to law school, they hadn’t seen each other much. Just a quick visit here and there. But when they were both home this past Christmas he’d been dressed not in his usual jeans but in a pair of trousers, a dress shirt, no tie but -- her breath quickened at the memory -- a pair of suspenders. When she was a preteen, Jesse had a short lived but very big crush on her Uncle Rafa. The suspenders he wore with his suits to work had a lot to do with it. So when she saw Noah in a pair, suddenly he didn’t seem so brotherly anymore. The prospect of spending nine hours in the car with him had been appealing, until the trip started out with bickering over her not being ready when he came to pick her up. Then it went downhill from there, with more bickering over stopping to eat, then the flat tire and to add insult to injury, the car overheating destroyed any hopes she’d had of them getting to know each other as something other than kids who had grown up together. As tired as she was, she didn’t foresee much sleep with Noah in the bed next to her; all six foot, two and a half inches of him…..

“Rollins! You fall asleep in there?” his voice from the other side of the door broke through her thoughts. “Don’t use all the hot water.”

Somehow she had managed to wash her hair and her body without even realizing. Quickly turning off the water, she called, “Sorry! I’ll be right out!”

Drying with one of the thin white towels provided and wrapping her head in another, she pulled on a tank top and a pair of her dad’s boxers that she’d pilfered for sleeping. Suitcase in hand, she opened the door. Noah was standing on the other side and waved away the cloud of steam that exited with her.

“Are you sure you didn’t use all the hot water?” He brushed past her. “Sorry, I really have to pee.” And closed the door.

She rolled her eyes and moved to the dresser to comb out her long blonde hair. Those were exactly the brotherly kinds of comments she didn’t want to hear anymore. Her stomach growled in agreement and she laughed out loud. There had to be a place that delivered pizza this late in a beach town. Especially when it was spring break. On top of the desk she found a menu for a restaurant that advertised delivery to that motel. Jesse heard the shower running so didn’t bother asking him what he wanted. She didn’t need to. She knew exactly how he liked his pizza: extra cheese, sausage and peppers. But only peppers on his half. Not hers. She shuddered with distaste.

“I ordered pizza,” she called through the door. “I’m going to find a soda machine.”

“Good deal,” came the reply. “Get me -- “

“Root beer if they have it. I know.” His laugh followed her out the door, key and wallet in hand.

The vending machines were at the opposite end of the hallway from their room. By the time she was making her way back, Jesse was wishing she’d put some shoes and a sweatshirt on. It was still March. Putting the key in the lock, she pushed the door open.

“Spring break or not, it’s cold out th ---” the words died in her mouth when she saw Noah standing by the bed in nothing but a pair of sweatpants hung low on his hips, rummaging in his bag for a shirt. His curly brown hair sat in ringlets on his head, damp from his shower.

She couldn’t remember the last time -- when he was 16? -- she’d seen him shirtless. Clearly he did more at law school than study. She recalled seeing a gym pass tag on his ring of keys. Suddenly Jesse wasn’t so cold anymore, as a rush of heat ran through her veins. She shifted her feet nervously, trying not to stare. He found what he was looking for and pulled it over his head, asking as he did,

“They have root beer?”

“Um, yeah. They did.”

She put the bottles down on the desk. Root beer for Noah. Cola for her. He always told her she drank too much caffeine. This from the son of the Cuban Coffee Fiend she always replied. But a coffee habit was one thing he had not learned from Rafael Barba. Jesse had just sat down on the bed with pillows behind her back when there was a knock at the door.

“I got it,” Noah said, grabbing his wallet from the dresser. She heard a short exchange between him and the delivery person and then he was back in front of the bed, holding the box to his nose. “I smell…..extra cheese…….sausage…….and peppers. But peppers only on one half.”

She grinned at him. “What else?”

He returned the grin and put the box down on the bed. “You know me too well, Jess.”

Then he grabbed the sodas and sat down beside her, stretching his long legs out on the bedspread. There were paper plates and napkins in a bag atop the box. They eschewed the plates, but Jesse was grateful for the napkins, since Noah’s penchant for extra cheese tended to make the eating messy, just like when her dad made homemade pizza. She was just about to take a bite when she all but dropped her slice.

“Shit!”

“What? Did you burn your mouth?” Noah asked with concern.

“No!” She put the piece of pizza back in the box and scrambled off the bed, reaching for her purse. “We didn’t tell our parents we stopped! They still think we’re on our way!”

“Shit.”

“Exactly.” She pulled her phone out. “Do you think they’re still up? Should I call or just send a text?”

“I’m sure my dad is still awake, which means my mom is still awake, which means your mom is still awake, which means your dad is probably still awake.” Noah replied.

He had put his piece of pizza down as well and gave it a longing look before getting off the bed to get his phone from his jeans that were draped across a chair. The phone was ringing in Jesse’s ear.

“Jesse, babe. Is everything all right? Did you get coolant for the car? Was that not the problem? Is there something else wrong with it?”

“Dad, we’re fine. But when we got off the highway, none of the stores that were open had coolant.”

She could hear him repeating her words; she assumed to her mom and Noah’s parents.

“So where are you?”

“We’re in Virginia Beach. We got a room for the night. We’ll get coolant in the morning when the auto parts store opens and get on the road. We’ll be there by lunch,” she told him.

Again, he repeated her words, but before he was finished speaking, Noah’s phone rang.

“It’s my dad,” he said, accepting the call. “Hi, Dad.”

“Noah, you and Jesse are at a motel?”

“Yeah, Dad, it’s fine. Like Jess said, none of the stores that were open when we got here had coolant for the car. We were tired and hungry so we just got a room. We’ll be there in the morning.”

“Do you want me to come and get you?” Rafael asked. But before Noah could reply, he heard his mother’s voice. She had taken the phone from her husband.

“Noah, my love. You and Jesse are in a safe part of town, yes?” Of course that would be the first question his mother the retired police captain would ask. Since she couldn’t see him, he rolled his eyes.

“Yes, mom. It’s fine,” he assured her.

“All right, then you and Jesse get some sleep. I’m going to drag your father to bed so the rest of us can get some sleep too. Call or text us in the morning when you are back on the highway.”

He could hear the muffled sound of his dad’s voice. Then Olivia said, “No, Rafael, we are not going to get them. Noah is 24 years old. He can take care of himself and Jesse.”

Coming back on the line with him, she said, “Good night, sweetie. We’ll see you both tomorrow. Drive safely.”

“We will. ‘Night, Mom.”

He turned around to see Jesse ending her call as well. She had heard part of the conversation among the parents through her phone.

“Good thing we found this room, or your dad _would_ be on his way to get us,” she laughed.

“With yours riding shotgun,” Noah replied.

“You’re probably right,” Jesse agreed, taking up her spot on the bed again.

Fortunately they hadn’t been on the phone long enough for the pizza to get cold. But the long day was starting to catch up with them both. One slice each and they were fighting sleep, the caffeine in her soda notwithstanding.

“Go brush your teeth, Rollins,” Noah told her with a yawn of his own. “You’re falling asleep.”

He closed up the pizza box and put it on the desk. When she returned from the bathroom, he took his turn cleaning his teeth. She was sitting on the edge of the bed when he emerged.

“What?”

“Do you have a favorite side or something?” she asked.

“I don’t know, you’re the only girl I’ve ever slept with,” he said, then realized how that sounded. “I mean, well you know, shared a bed with,” he added, blushing a little when that didn’t make it much better. “Oh hell, just stay there, I’ll take the other side.”

He turned out the light, plunging the room into darkness save for a sliver of light coming in from outside under the door. Both of them were grateful for the cover, because each was nervous about getting under the blankets together for the first time since they were much younger. Jesse was in the bed with the covers pulled to her chin by the time she felt the mattress dip down on the other side and he arranged his head on the pillow. They were both laying on their backs. Noah wasn’t touching her, but she could feel the warmth coming off his body and it was inviting. She scooted a little bit to the side so that the side of her arm was touching his. He smiled in the darkness.

“Night, Jess.”

“Good night, Noh.”

Jesse thought she wouldn’t sleep being in the bed beside Noah, but he was the one who lay awake, after she had fallen asleep within minutes of closing her eyes. He listened to her gentle breathing and thought about what he’d said before he turned out the light. Jesse really was the only girl with whom he’d shared a bed. He wasn’t a virgin anymore. No, he’d lost that in undergrad. But there had been no actual sleeping involved in any of his few encounters. Also, when girls find out your mom used to be the head of a sex crimes division and your dad is the District Attorney of New York County, well, he hadn’t had too many long term relationships. But he couldn’t blame it all on the girls. No, every time he found himself getting interested in someone, he started to compare her to the young woman beside him. She wasn’t as funny as Jesse. She wasn’t as smart as Jesse. Her eyes weren’t as pretty as Jesse’s. The object of his thoughts sighed in her sleep and moved a little closer to him, seeking his warmth. She rolled onto her side, her head nearly on his shoulder. He could smell the shampoo they’d both used from the small bottle in the bathroom, but it smelled different on her. Noah wondered if he could put his arm around her without waking her up. But all the talks his parents had with him about consent echoed in his head. Jesse’s hand found his, though, between their bodies and she clasped it gently as she slept. Finally, his body started to relax and he closed his eyes, allowing sleep to overtake him.

The room was much lighter when Jesse woke, but not light enough to tell her it was past sunrise. She didn’t remember where she was at first, especially when her head wasn’t on a pillow, but pillowed on a muscular chest covered in a Property of NYPD t-shirt. Then it all came back: the flat tire, the overheated car, no coolant, no vacancies. Uncle Rafa wanting to drive up and get them. She stifled a giggle so as not to wake her sleeping body pillow, because that’s how she was treating Noah. Her head was on his chest, the arm not sandwiched between them was across his waist and one leg was bent and across one of his. She opened her eyes and tipped her head back. She could see his chin, covered in more stubble than yesterday. He’d joked in the car that he wasn’t shaving again until classes resumed. Her fingers itched to touch it. Maybe just one finger wouldn’t wake him. Sliding her palm up his chest, she stretched out her pointer finger and gently touched the dimple on his chin. Like the curls on his head, his whiskers were soft, not scratchy. He hadn’t moved, so she allowed her finger to trace the line of his jaw. Suddenly she felt fingers on her back and realized his arm was around her. Her hand froze and the fingers on her back stilled.

He was awake! A small impish smile curved Jesse’s lips. She continued to trace his jawline up almost to his ear. The fingers on her back started to move again, up toward the back of her head. Hers moved to the side of his neck and down, pausing when she felt his pulse flutter beneath them. His brushed her hair aside and gently touched the nape of her neck and moved around to trace the shell of her ear, eliciting a small shiver from her. She continued moving her fingertips down his neck to his collarbone. The rest of his chest was concealed by his shirt, so she followed the line of the fabric where it met his skin until she was back where she started initially. Noah’s fingers had moved down her neck to her bare shoulder and his thumb was rubbing gentle circles there. His eyes hadn’t opened the whole time they were exploring each other, but now they did and his blue ones met her brown.

“Good morning,” Noah said, bringing his other hand that had been resting on the mattress until now across his body to brush silken strands of her hair away from her face. “Sleep well?”

“You make a good pillow,” Jesse told him.

An early riser by nature, Noah had been awake before she touched him. He was surprised but pleased to find she was using him as a pillow and had lain there wondering how she would react to an un-brotherly advance. When he felt her featherlight touch on his chin and then up his jaw, he tried to control his heartbeat and keep his breathing even so as not to give away the fact he was awake. Then his hand seemed to move of its own accord up her back and when hers stopped he knew she knew. But then she continued touching him, so he played along. The skin at the nape of her neck was soft and he’d wondered if the rest of her skin felt the same. Keeping his hand at the side of her face, he boldly touched her lips with his thumb and she, equally boldly, pursed them against it, her heart pounding. He pulled his hand away, shifting his body slightly away from hers.

“Jess, I — “

“I swear to God, Barba, if you tell me you have to pee, I’ll sic Frannie Junior on you when we get to the beach house.” She pushed herself up on her elbow to glare at him.

Noah’s laughter filled the room, making her frown even deeper and start to roll away from him, intending to get out of the bed, but he tightened his arm around her waist, stopping her.

“Dammit, Noah. Let me go!”

“Not until you let me finish what I started to say. And it wasn’t that I had to pee,” he said. “Although I do,” he added, earning him a smack in the middle of the NYPD logo.

“Fine,” she said. “Speak.”

Noah swallowed nervously. If she hadn’t interrupted him, he was about to tell her he wanted to kiss her, but now the words stuck in his throat. Jesse had been his best friend as long as he could remember. He’d heard enough stories about his mom and dad to know that often the best relationships started as friendships. He had also heard about how his parents waited so long to take the step from friends to lovers because both of them were afraid of being rejected by the other and ruining their friendship. He didn’t want that to happen with Jesse either, but he’d never know if he didn’t take a chance. He just hoped their actions of the past few minutes meant that she felt the same way as he did.

“I’m waiting,” Jesse prompted. If she wasn’t laying down, she’d have tapped her foot. She settled for drumming her fingers on his abdomen, making the muscles twitch when she hit a ticklish spot.

He exhaled through his nose. Now or never Barba, he thought. He looked into her warm brown eyes and moved his hand to push her hair behind her ear and ran his thumb over her cheekbone.

“I — would you mind if I did this, Jess?”

Noah lowered his head toward hers and saw her eyes widen and then close as he brushed his lips against hers. When she didn’t push him away, he repeated the action. Her mouth was soft and she sighed against his, making him increase the pressure of the kiss. Jesse moved her hand from his shirtfront to his shoulder and then into the curls at the back of his head, leaning into him. When his tongue ran across her bottom lip, however, she pulled back.

“Hold up,” she said. “Much as I’m enjoying this — and I am, make no mistake, Barba.” She grinned at him. “But before this goes any further, I’d like to brush my teeth.”

“Go then,” he replied with a smirk that would have made his dad proud. “I’ll wait.” He laced his fingers together and put them behind his head. That earned him another smack in the middle of the logo on his shirt which made him laugh again and she thought briefly how much she like the sound of it.

Jesse pushed the covers off, climbed out of bed and went into the bathroom. She returned a few minutes later. When she saw he was still in the same position, she waved her toothbrush at him.

“You need to brush yours too, my friend.”

She reached for the covers to pull them off of him but he stilled the action by grabbing her wrist.

“Jess, wait.”

“Why? Oh.”

When he moved to stop her hand, the blanket had flattened out on his legs except where it tented over the reaction his body had to the short amount of time they’d spent touching and kissing. He released her wrist and she stepped away from the bed, her cheeks flushed pink, and busied herself with putting her toothbrush away and running a brush through her hair. Then she opened her suitcase to find a set of clean clothes and disappeared into the bathroom again. Leaning against the door, she blew out out a breath.

Jesse was technically a virgin but she wasn’t inexperienced. She just hadn’t thought about the possible effect on Noah what they’d done might have and it excited her a little bit. But he clearly hadn’t been ready for her to know about it. She dressed quickly and opened the door, moving to slip on her shoes. Grabbing the key from the desk, she turned her head in his direction but didn’t make eye contact.

“I’ll go find us some coffee. Be right back.” And she was out the door before he could reply.

Muttering a curse under his breath, Noah threw back the covers and stood up from the bed. Grabbing his own clean clothes, he brushed his teeth and dressed, mentally kicking himself the whole time for not having better self control. Jesse still hadn’t returned when he came out of the bathroom. Crossing the room, he pulled back the curtains to reveal not a window, but a sliding door to a small balcony that looked out over the beach. It was still early and the sun was just beginning to come up over the water. Opening the door he stepped outside into the crisp morning air. He leaned his forearms on the metal railing and inhaled the smell of the ocean. He had been looking forward to a week at the beach with his parents, Jesse and her parents. Now he had probably screwed that up; not to mention any hopes he had for anything other than friendship with the young woman. He didn’t hear the door open announcing her return until it closed and he smelled the aroma of coffee and chocolate. He shook his head. She always knew what he liked.

“Hey, I didn’t realize we were beachfront,” Jesse said as she joined him. “Look at that sunrise!”

He turned to see her with a cardboard carrier in her hands that she put down on a tiny table, the only piece of furniture on the small porch.

“I got you a mocha, since you only drink coffee when it’s contaminated with chocolate,” she teased, removing the lid and handing it to him.

Noah took a drink, leaving a mustache of foam on his upper lip. He moved to wipe it away with the back of his hand, but Jesse grasped his wrist with her slender fingers and took the cup from his hand with the other, placing it on the table.

“Let me help with that,” she said, stepping closer to him so their bodies were almost touching.

She had to stretch and go up on her toes, placing her other hand on his shoulder for balance, but she closed her mouth over his upper lip, licking the foam away. The moment her tongue touched his lip he couldn’t hold back a groan. The hand not in her grasp went to her waist and pulled her flush against him. She released his wrist and carded her fingers through the curls at the back of his head, holding it in place, while her tongue moved to the inside of his mouth to meet his. She tasted of coffee and he had a fleeting thought that maybe it wasn’t so bad after all. Now with both hands free, his other one joined the first at her waist, holding her tight, while he took control of the kiss, slanting his mouth over hers. The combination of the mocha and toothpaste made him taste like chocolate mint candy. Feeling like a swimmer, Jesse pulled her mouth away to take a gasping breath and pressed her lips back to his, unable to get enough of him. Noah spun them around and trapped her body between his and the railing, continuing to kiss her, when a voice called, “Get a room!” followed by laughter and a second voice saying, “They have a room, you idiot!”

Noah ended the kiss, keeping her securely in his arms and looked for the source of the voices. Two young men were stumbling up the beach, probably just on their way home after a night a partying. One of them saw him looking and gave him two thumbs up. He chuckled and pressed a kiss to Jesse’s forehead.

“Your coffee’s getting cold,” he said softly. She was resting her head on his shoulder and shook it back and forth.

“Don’t care.”

“What? Jesse Rollins-Carisi doesn’t care about coffee?” Noah teased. “Are you sick?”

“Lovesick, I think,” she replied almost in a whisper, turning her head to look at him. “Noh, is this real? I mean, you’re my best friend. Can we -- do this too?”

“Oh, we can, Jess,” he replied, taking her face in his hands and kissing her gently. Lovingly. “We can. And as much as I’d like to stay here with you in this motel room for the rest of the week, if we don’t put coolant in my car and get on the highway, my dad is going to have my mom putting a BOLO out on us.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jesse and Noah have made it safely to the beach house. Now it's their turn to be the ones who have to disclose. What will the parents think?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The rating of this work has changed to M for reasons in this chapter. Pending the reader's maturity level, it still may be okay for older teens.

_“.....as much as I’d like to stay here with you in this motel room for the rest of the week, if we don’t put coolant in my car and get on the highway, my dad is going to have my mom putting a BOLO out on us,” Noah said._

Jesse giggled. He was right. She looked into the blue eyes that she’d known as long as she could remember, fringed with lashes longer than a man should be allowed to have. She ran her hands up and down his back and hooked her fingers into his belt loops.

“But it’s still early. The store across the street probably isn’t even open yet.”

“True. Want to get some breakfast? More coffee?”

“No, I want more of this.” She kissed him, gently taking his bottom lip between her teeth and she felt his intake of breath against her own.

Noah’s arms had still been loosely wrapped around her and now they tightened in response to her actions, another part of his body responding as well. She felt it and pulled harder on his belt loops, pushing her own hips against his.

“Jess.” Her name came out as a near groan as she ended the kiss and slipped her fingertips under the hem of his t-shirt to touch the skin on his back. Emboldened by his reaction, she ghosted them up his spine under the fabric.

Noah responded in kind, placing his hands on her hips and sliding his thumbs under the edge of her shirt to find the soft skin beneath as they continued to kiss. He was contemplating moving them higher up under her shirt when a balcony door slammed somewhere nearby, reminding him anyone down on the beach could see them.

Taking his mouth from hers with regret, he took her by the hand and led her back into the room where he sat on the edge of the bed, pulling her down beside him. With his free hand he cupped her cheek and tried to put his thoughts into the right words.

“Jesse, I don’t want to do more than this…..” he kissed her lingeringly “....here. For one thing, we have no protection. For another, I want more time than what we have.” He kissed her again. “To do that.”

“Noah, I haven’t,” she stopped, dropping her head so her hair hid her face.

“Then all the more reason not here,” he said gently, putting a finger under her chin so he could make eye contact. “We have all the time in the world to decide when and where.”

“It’s after 8:00 and we haven’t heard from them yet,” Rafael said and Olivia watched his long fingers caress the side of his coffee cup, which told her he was thinking. “Can you issue a BOLO in this state, Liv?”

The four parents sat at the kitchen table in the spacious kitchen beside a picture window that overlooked the beach. His wife threw her head back and laughed, earning a glare from him over the rim of his cup as he took a drink of his morning brew.

“For one, Rafa, I’m retired --”

“Then what about you?” he looked at Amanda, who paused with a spoon of yogurt halfway to her mouth.

“And for two,” Olivia continued as if he hadn’t spoken, “even if I wasn’t, we are way out of NYPD jurisdiction; so that means Lieutenant Rollins-Carisi couldn’t either. Noah said he’d let us know when they were on the road. Maybe the store hasn’t opened yet.”

Then he said something that surprised all of them.

“So we’re all okay with them sharing a motel room? What?” Rafael said to the three pairs of eyes looking at him. “Can you tell me none of you thought about it?”

Before anyone could reply, Carisi’s phone sounded with an incoming text notification.

“It’s from Jesse,” he told them. “They’re on their way.”

Jesse felt like she was dreaming. Kissing Noah and realizing that it was possible for her to be more than just friends with her best friend seemed like something that could only happen in her dreams. But there she was, sitting next to him in the car, headed south to the Outer Banks to the rental house where they would be spending the next six days with both sets of parents. A car that was performing normally, now that it had been filled back up with the appropriate coolant and sporting a new tire. The store they purchased the coolant from was also a service center that happened to have the right size tire in stock and time to put it on while they had some breakfast, avoiding the need to baby the car and drive on the spare. Noah insisted on driving the last leg, saying she had done more than her share the day before. So she was sat in the passenger seat, cradling a paper cup of coffee -- “your third, Rollins” -- and thinking again on the things that happened in the motel room. She turned her head to look at him, tracing her profile with her eyes. Two days’ worth of scruff on his face was quite appealing. She wondered if she could talk him into keeping it. He glanced over at her, catching her looking at him and gave her a wink, which made her blush.

“What are you thinking about?” he asked.

“You. Us,” Jesse admitted. “I feel like pinching myself to see if I’m dreaming.”

Noah reached over and pinched the skin on her arm.

“Ow!”

“Nope, you’re not dreaming,” he told her, earning him a lighthearted smack on his own arm in return. “Hey, no violence against the driver.”

They were about thirty minutes from the beach house when Noah said,

“So are we going to tell the parents about us?”

“You want to have a conversation with my dad about your intentions tonight over dinner?”

He chuckled. “I could say the same to you.”

She grinned. “True.”

Noah reached over and took her hand. “Why don’t we figure out our intentions before we tell them?”

“That sounds like a good idea.”

He raised her hand and brought it to his lips, thinking that was a good idea in theory; but not touching her was going to be difficult in front of the two sets of parents. So they just needed to determine their intentions quickly. They could talk later that night if they could get time alone. A walk on the beach maybe.

“Mama, we’re taking Frannie J for a walk on the beach,” said Jesse. The dog was prancing at her side, knowing better than to dash down to the sand until she was given permission.

“Okay. Make sure you take a bag, just in case,” replied Amanda.

“Already have one.”

Noah and Jesse went down the stairs with Frannie leading the way.

Olivia laughed. “She certainly likes the beach, doesn’t she?”

She and Amanda were sitting on the deck, enjoying the evening, while the husbands cleaned up after dinner. All four of the parents were happy and relieved that their kids made it safely to the house. After looking over Noah’s car, Sonny proudly declared his little girl had done everything right. The young adults had exchanged glances, not telling him the car was checked out when the tire was replaced.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d swear she’s part labrador,” replied Amanda, watching the dog run in and out of the waves. “Well, would you look at that.”

“What?” Olivia followed the other woman’s line of sight. “Oh. When did that happen I wonder?”

The two women watched as Noah and Jesse held hands while they walked.

“Your guess is as good as mine, Liv. I didn’t think they had seen each other until they came down here.”

“They’re cute together, though. I can’t say I haven’t thought about it,” the retired SVU Captain admitted.

“Thought about what, _mi amor_?” asked Rafael, putting his hands on his wife’s shoulders and kissing the top of her head.

“Whether I can talk you into buying a vacation house.”

She tipped her head back for a second kiss on the lips. Her statement wasn’t an outright falsehood; it just wasn’t the correct answer to his question. But her husband was a protective father and after his comment that morning about the kids sharing a room, she knew if he saw Noah and Jesse holding hands, it would open a Pandora’s box of questions for them. She knew when her son was ready to tell them about whatever was going on between the two of them, he would. She also knew Rafael hadn’t put the thought from his mind and wasn’t at all surprised that night when, after climbing into bed next to her, he said,

“So you’re okay with Noah and Jesse sharing a room last night, then Liv?”

She scooted closer and put her head on his shoulder. Rafael’s arm curled around her shoulders and his hand burrowed under her hair to find and caress the nape of her neck. She wore it shorter these days, off her shoulders, but still long enough for him work his fingers through. At 69, she continued to color away the gray hairs, keeping her hair the burnished brunette it was when they first met, whereas his hair was completely salt and pepper gray, giving him what she told him was a very distinguished and judicial as well as sexy look.

“Rafa, they are adults and they are capable of sharing a motel room without anything sexual happening,” she said. “However, if something did develop between them, I would be perfectly fine with that. They’ve been friends since Jesse was born, and best friends for more than half their lives. Longer than you and I when you came to your senses.”

“Me?” Olivia felt his chest move with a silent snort. “I think you were the hold out. I had to convince you that we were perfect for each other.”

“Did you now?” She picked up her head and pressed a kiss on his jaw, then another on his neck. “How did you do that, hmm?”

“Oh, I remember a night of pizza and wine in your apartment, for one. Then a night of dinner and dancing.” He rolled over, not as quickly as he used to, but fast enough to make her gasp, and pinned her beneath him. “And a lot of this,” he said, before capturing her mouth with his own.

Down the hall from his parents’ room, Noah lay in his bed, hands clasped beneath his head, staring at the shadows cast by the moonlight coming through the window where he’d left the curtains open. He was thinking about what he’d said to Jesse in the car; about figuring out their intentions before telling their parents they were in a relationship. They _were_ in a relationship, weren’t they? This didn’t feel like a casual hookup. For either of them. Jesse had basically admitted to him she was a virgin, which he had suspected, but also that she wanted to make love with him. And he couldn’t deny his desire for her as well. He’d wanted to talk about his feelings when they went for a walk on the beach that evening with Frannie Junior, but the dog had other plans and decided to go for a swim and then roll in the sand, forcing them to return to the house and bathe her at the outdoor shower. As he was contemplating when they could find time alone the next day, his phone gave a muted ping. Lifting it from the nightstand he saw a text from Jesse.

**You asleep?**

_-No._

**Can I come to your room?**

_-Sure._

His reply was no sooner sent than he heard the door open and saw her come inside; closing it quietly behind her, her face illuminated by the phone in her hand. He flipped the covers back as an invitation for her to join him in bed. She was wearing the same clothes she’d slept in the night before. He was not and Jesse saw his bare chest in the moonlight. She bit her lip and hoped he didn’t usually sleep naked, before climbing in next to him. She lay on her side, propped up on her elbow, reached out her foot tentatively and to her relief encountered fabric covering his legs.

“Hi,” she said softly.

“Hi,” Noah replied. They had said good night less than an hour ago, but his heart gave a jump at seeing her again.

They lay there on their sides and looked at each other for a minute or two, both just happy to be together. He reached out, bridging the gap between their bodies and put his hand on curve of her hip. Other than holding hands in the car and while they walked on the beach with Frannie J, this was the first they’d touched since that morning. After another day without shaving, the scruff on Noah’s face was even heavier. Jesse extended her hand to scratch her fingers through it on his cheek, and said, “You keeping this?”

“I don’t know. My dad made a comment about it,” he told her.

A bathroom separated his room from his parents, but they still kept their voices low.

She raised her blonde eyebrows. “Pot kettle much?” Rafael had sported a beard for nearly the last 20 years.

Noah chuckled quietly. “I know. But he didn’t have one when he was in law school and starting out.”

“I like it,” Jesse said, and slid her hand around into his soft curls. “It’s sexy. Just like these.”

“Well, there’s not much I can do about them unless I shave my head.”

“Don’t you dare!” she gasped.

“I wasn’t planning on it, don’t worry.” He flashed her a smile.

Without moving his hand, his thumb found its way beneath the bottom edge of her tank top and caressed the soft skin above the waistband of her shorts. Her breath caught in her throat when his palm joined his thumb and moved to the small of her back. Then he deftly slid his arm firmly around her waist and pulled her across the sheet toward him. Noah muffled her sound of surprise by covering her mouth with his and kissing her soundly. Her fingers carded through his hair, then moved down to the smooth muscles of his shoulder. She tried to wiggle her other arm free from between them to put it around him as well, but couldn’t. He pulled back to look at her.

“What’s wrong?”

“My arm’s stuck.” He pushed her onto her back in response, freeing up her arm, which wound itself around his neck. “Much better. Where were we?” She pulled his head back down to reconnect their lips.

With his body pressing down on hers, Jesse could feel his reaction to what they were doing. It sent tingles of arousal through her and she moved a leg so one of Noah’s was sandwiched between her thighs. She moved her hands down his bare back to his hips and pulled him tighter against her. His arm that was around her waist beneath her shirt moved up her back. His hand stopped when he realized she wore no bra. Of course she wouldn’t, he thought, she was dressed for bed. She probably hadn’t worn one the night before. Shifting so he could support his weight on one elbow, he moved the hand that was under her shirt to her waist and slowly up her ribcage, watching her face. When his hand brushed against the bottom of her breast, Jesse closed her eyes and arched against his touch, encouraging him to gently cup its fullness. He bent his head and pressed his lips against her bare shoulder, tracing her collarbone with his tongue. He moved his mouth to her neck and she gasped when he bit gently on her flesh, and moaned softly when his thumb grazed her nipple. He returned his lips to hers, plunging his tongue into her mouth at the same time he thrust his hips into hers. She wrapped a leg around his and echoed his movements. When Noah felt her hands dip below the waistband of his lounge pants, he pulled away, breathing hard.

“Jess, wait.”

She opened her eyes and looked at him, lips swollen, face flushed. As children whose parents investigated  sex crimes for a living, it was ingrained in both of them that no meant no, so to hear him say wait doused cold water on the heat in her veins. She moved her hands to his shoulders, but couldn’t help asking,

“Wait? But, Noah, I thought you wanted — “

“I do, Jess. God, I do!” He rasped, lowering his head to press a kiss to her shoulder. “But not here with both of our parents down the hall.”

“That’s probably a good idea,” she agreed, removing her legs from around his, to allow him to move off of her.

They readjusted their position so that she had her head on his shoulder; similar to how they woke that morning. Noah was running his fingers through her hair when he said, “So I guess we need to decide what we’re going to tell the parents.”

“Yeah. I want to be able to touch you in front of them,” she agreed.

“And kiss you,” he added, “But your dad’s not gonna shoot me or anything, is he?”

The next morning, Carisi went looking for his daughter to see if she wanted to go surf fishing with him while the tide was low. He knocked on her door. Hearing no response, he opened the door enough to look inside.

“Jess, you awake?” Her bed was unmade but she wasn’t in the room. He frowned. It was early for her to have gotten up on her own. Jesse was not normally an early riser by choice.

Closing the door, her father went down to the kitchen where his wife, Olivia and Rafael were drinking coffee and discussing plans for the day.

“Did Jesse say anything about getting up early to take Frannie J for a run on the beach?” he asked.

The dog, who had been lying under the table, thumped her tail on the floor at the sound of her name. He answered his own question. “Guess not.”

“Why, Dominick?” asked Amanda.

“She’s not in her room. I was going to see if she wanted to do some surf fishing with me. I saw some poles in the garage.”

Olivia raised her cup to her lips to hide a smile as she met Amanda’s eyes. “Wonder what time the antique store we wanted to go to today opens?”

“Don’t know. I’ll check.” Amanda picked up her phone. But instead of looking online for the antique store’s hours which they had already done, she sent a text to her daughter:

 

**_Girl, if you’re where I think you are, you’d better get up. Dad went looking for you and found your bed empty._ **

 

As usual, Noah was awake, lying there looking at Jesse sleep, thinking about their conversation from the night before when he heard her phone chime. He reached over her to pick it up and saw the text from her mom. He swore softly, then gently shook her shoulder.

“Jess, wake up.”

She rolled over and snuggled against his warmth, making soft protesting noises that made him smile and in any other situation he would have snuggled her back.

“Jesse, honey, you need to wake up. Your mom knows you’re in here with me,” he said.

Her brown eyes snapped open and he held out her phone so she could see it.

“Oh my God!” She flopped onto her back. “Well, the cat’s out of the bag, now.”

“But that’s okay, right?”

After what they’d talked about before falling asleep, Noah was a little surprised at her reaction. She heard the concern in his voice and rolled back over to put a palm to his face.

“Yes, yes of course, Noh!” She pecked a quick kiss on his mouth. The only one he was getting until she brushed her teeth. “I just didn’t want to get caught sneaking. But how did Mama know?”

“I don’t know, Jess. And we really weren’t sneaking. We’re adults, not teenagers.”

“Tell that to your dad,” she snorted. “He wanted to come rescue us, remember.”

“He means well. I think he goes overboard with the caring because his dad, well, he wasn’t the best.”

Noah had never been told exactly how his father had been treated by his own, but he’d overheard conversations when he was younger and as he got older, drew conclusions.

“I love your dad, Noh. I wouldn’t want him any other way. Come on, let’s go meet the judge and jury.”

Jesse grinned at her own pun and rolled out of bed and padded toward the door. She turned and looked back at Noah.

“What are you waiting for, Barba? Go brush your teeth so I can have a proper good morning kiss.”

At those words, he flung back the covers and covered the distance between them in long strides, grabbing her around the waist and picking her her up off the floor to move her away from the door so he could open it first. The movement made her laugh and she clung to his shoulders for a moment, then kissed him on the cheek.

“Meet you back here and we’ll go downstairs together,” she said.

Noah’s room was the closest to the landing of the stairs and Jesse’s laughter had carried downstairs to the open plan of the spacious first floor, to the ears of both sets of parents. All four of them picked up their heads and looked to the source of the sound.

“She’s happy for being awake this early,” remarked her father.

“She only laughs like that with Noah,” added Rafael, having heard it many times over the last two decades when Jesse was with his son.

When neither woman commented, they both got pointed looks from their husbands.

“Is there something you want to tell me, ‘Manda?” asked Carisi, but before she could reply, Noah and Jesse entered the kitchen.

They had met back at his room and Jesse got her proper good morning kiss which had her pressing her face into Noah’s chest, now covered in his NYPD t-shirt, to catch her breath before going downstairs.

“Good morning, Mama. Daddy.” Jesse planted a kiss on her father’s cheek before going to cupboard for a mug that she filled with coffee, before sitting down at the table.

“Mornin’,” said Carisi. He fixed his blue gaze on his daughter. “I was just asking your mother if there was something she wanted to tell me, but maybe I should be asking you. Or you.”

He turned his head to look at Noah who had sat down next to Jesse with a cup of his own, having decided he might need the caffeine for this conversation. The young man suddenly had an idea what it was like being interrogated by the detective turned lawyer. He turned his eyes to his own parents, but simply got a cocked eyebrow from his father and a small smile from his mother. No help there.

“We’re not going to lie,” said Jesse simply, meeting her father’s gaze. “I spent the night in Noah’s room.”

His eyes narrowed, while Rafael’s other eyebrow joined the first, high on his forehead.

“Nothing happened,” Noah rushed to assure everyone.

“How long has this been going on, _mijo_?”

“Just since the car broke down. The room we got had only one bed and well, um,” Noah paused and his mother finally spoke.

“Please tell me at least you were safe.” She leaned forward toward the two young people, one hand on the table, the other one holding Rafael’s on his leg, out of sight.

“Aunt Livvy, no! Nothing happened there either,” said Jesse shaking her head, seeing her own mother relax a little in her chair. Amanda trusted her daughter; and Noah. But it made her feel better to hear the words.

Noah reached over and took Jesse’s hand in his. He looked first to the blue eyed attorney who was still staring him down like he was a witness on the stand.

“I love Jesse, Uncle Sonny. I’ve always loved her. She’s been my best friend for longer than I can remember.” He looked at Amanda as he continued speaking. “But when we were broken down and alone together — I realized that I love her as more than a sister.”

Now he looked at his own parents.

“I know we’re young -- well, she is, ow!” he said as Jesse’s bare foot made contact with his ankle under the table. “Anyway, we’re not planning on rushing into anything, but we, um, we just wanted tell you and get your approval I guess.”

As their son spoke, Olivia’s hand that had grabbed her husband’s, relaxed and she laced her fingers with his. Rafael gave it a little squeeze that said she had been right the night before. The only parent who had yet to say anything was Amanda. Jesse looked at her mother.

“Mama?”

Amanda looked at her daughter and didn’t see the grown woman across the table from her. She  saw the infant she took home from the hospital, terrified that she would be a failure as a mother because she was single and alone. She saw the toddler she taught to celebrate three point shots and touchdowns. She saw the little girl who made her cry the first time she called Dominick, “Daddy”, not “Sonny” the day they got married. She saw the teenager who fought with her over clothes and makeup. But she also realized when she thought about Jesse’s life, Noah had always been an integral part of it, so this announcement really did not surprise her that much. If she had been asked to choose someone with whom to trust her daughter’s heart, it would be the young man sitting next to her holding her hand. She met Jesse’s eyes and blinked away sudden tears from her own and smiled.

“Baby, I can’t think of a better person for you,” she told her daughter. She looked at Noah and added, “But you know, darlin’, I’m the best shot here at this table.”

After a beat, she winked at him and the adults erupted into laughter.

“Now that we’ve gotten all that settled, can we make some breakfast?” asked Sonny. “Because I have a date with a fishing pole down on the beach. Jess, are you gonna’ join me?”

She hesitated and Noah said, “Go fish with your dad. I have some reading to do anyway.”

“It’s spring break, Noah,” his mother chided.

“We’ll go to the beach later. I promise,” he told her. “Now who’s making the blueberry pancakes?”

True to his word, when Jesse returned from antiquing with her mom and his that afternoon, they changed into bathing suits and headed to the sand. After spreading out a large beach blanket, they each removed their outer clothes. When Jesse revealed her bikini, Noah felt his mouth go dry. It had been a long time since he’d last seen her in a bathing suit or anything as revealing. He tried to stop staring at her curves but failed. The full breasts he had cupped the night before were covered in bright pink fabric that created appealing cleavage. She wore matching bottoms that showed off her firm derriere.

“How cold do you think the water is?” she asked, piling her hair atop her head in a messy knot.

He hoped it was cold enough to prevent him from embarrassing himself since he saw both sets of parents walking toward them, carrying beach chairs. The last thing he needed was them to see the hard on he was developing looking at Jesse in her bathing suit, remembering what her body had felt like under him the night before

“Let’s go see.” Noah grabbed her by the hand and walked quickly toward the incoming waves, pulling her along with him.

Jesse squealed when one broke over their ankles. “Noh, it’s cold!”

It was colder than he expected, but he continued to wade deeper, willing his body to calm down and feeling grateful they were walking away from the four who were now settling into their chairs. He made the mistake of glancing at Jesse and noticed the chill of water had caused her nipples to harden, the peaks visible beneath the fabric of her top and he thought about running his thumbs over them. More blood rushed to his groin which was now covered by the water but it offered little relief and he uttered a small groan that he hoped was drowned out by the crashing of the waves on the sand behind them. The blonde beside him, who was still holding his hand, heard him however and gave him a curious look.

“You okay?” she asked.

Before he could answer, a larger wave hit them, knocking Jesse off balance. He reached out and pulled her close to keep her on her feet. Pressed against him, she realized the reason for the mad dash into the water and the sound he made.

“Oh,” she said, giving him a coy smile. “Like my new bathing suit do you?”

He pressed his lips together before answering. “It’s nice.”

The lower half of their bodies hidden by the water from the parents, she boldly pushed her hips against his and said quietly, “This says you think it’s more than nice.”

Noah uttered another small groan and moved a hand to her lower back to keep her body pressed against his.

“Jess,” he said warningly.

“What?” she looked at him through the fringes of her lashes. “We -- what’s the term our parents used when they had to tell their bosses they were together?”

“Disclosed?” Noah had heard the story many times about how nervous his dad had been when he went to tell then District Attorney Jack McCoy he was dating his mom and was ready to quit on the spot if McCoy had suggested it was a problem. But the DA just laughed and said it was about time he made an honest woman out of the SVU lieutenant.

“That’s it. We disclosed our relationship to them and they were the ones who assumed we’ve already done it.”

“That doesn’t mean we can  -- what are you doing?”

They had drifted into deeper water as they talked, chest height on Noah and nearly past Jesse’s shoulders. She wrapped her legs around his waist so she didn’t have to tread water and wound her arms around his neck. Instinctively, he put his around her waist.

“Just holding on,” she said.

“Jesse, you have no idea what you’re doing to me,” he told her.

“Not just you.” She rolled her hips and closed her eyes at the sensation of his erection pressing against the ache growing between her own legs. “Oh, God, Noh.”

He rested his forehead against hers and whispered, “We can’t do this here. In the middle of the ocean. With our parents on the beach no less!”

“I know, I know,” Jesse replied, kissing him and tasting salt on his lips from the sea water. “But maybe just --” she used her legs that were around his waist to pull herself against him again and gasped softly when a zing of sensation ran through her. It wouldn’t take much to make her come and she whispered as much in his ear.

“Fuck,” he muttered against her lips before returning her kiss. Hoping the roll of the waves would hide his actions, he moved his hands to her hips and thrust his own against her, making her whimper.

“Again. Please.”

Noah repeated the action. Once, twice and after the third time she gave a little gasp and he turned them in the water so her back was to the beach and watched her face as she came undone, trembling in his arms. Then she began to giggle, realizing what they’d just done and where. Looking over her shoulder to their parents on the beach, she hoped none of them were any the wiser. Her mother had her eyes closed, head tipped up to the sun, while her father appeared to be reading a legal journal. Noah’s parents were also each reading; Rafael a book and Olivia a magazine.

“Do you think they noticed?” she asked, with another laugh.

“I hope not.” He pressed a kiss to her lips. “Are you okay for me to let go? I think I need to take a lap or something.”

She unwound her legs from him to see if she could touch bottom. She could, but now the water was nearly chin level on her. “Oh, that’s right. You’re still…” Jesse started to reach down below his waistband but he caught her wrist.

“Don’t. Just give me a couple minutes.”

“I’m sorry, Noah.” She felt bad she’d gotten release and he was still in a state of arousal.

“I’m not. I liked doing that for you. You’re beautiful when you come,” he told her, his blue eyes dark with the desire he still had for her.

She ducked her head, a little embarrassed and gave him a shove. “Go swim. I’m going to get some sun.”

“I don’t suppose you brought a different bathing suit, did you? Maybe something with a turtleneck and a skirt?”

She splashed some water in his direction and he laughed, turning to start swimming parallel to the shore, while she made her way back to the beach.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rafael and Noah have a father-son chat and Jesse finally returns the favor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you read carefully you'll find a reference to Enchanted because in my Barson world, this is all connected. Also, thank you to adrianna_m_scovill for letting me borrow Noah's best friend and to theoofoof for her proofreading and suggestions!

Rafael watched over the tops of his reading glasses as his son swam with sure, powerful strokes and Jesse walked out of the water to the beach blanket where she toweled off and sat down. Wrapping her arms around her knees she too, watched Noah swim. He remembered what it was like to have a beautiful woman in a bikini in your arms and had a pretty good idea of what had gone on out there, concealed by the waves. He wondered how many laps it would take before his son would feel comfortable coming out of the water. The answer was five. Finally Noah headed toward more shallow water and walked onto the sand, catching his breath and running his hands through his curls to remove the excess water.

“Better?” He heard Jesse ask, as Noah lowered himself onto the blanket beside her. The young man nodded, leaned closer and they exchanged a kiss. Oh yes, thought Rafael, they were smitten, and he chuckled, returning his attention to his novel. One of the benefits of being a judge that he really appreciated was having more time for leisure reading.

“A book about a serial killer is amusing?” Olivia asked. He shook his head.

“No, young love is.” Rafael looked at Noah and Jesse, who were now talking quietly, fingers entwined.

“I know how they feel.” She reached over and took his hand in hers.

“Maybe I should take you in the ocean,” he mused, eyeing her still trim figure in her black one piece suit.

“What?”

Rafael leaned over in his chair and murmured in her ear his suspicions about the new couple’s activities in the water based on what he’d observed. Her eyebrows rose.

“Really?”

He gave her a knowing smile and said, “I’m fairly certain. I mean, I recall one time when you and I --”

“Rafa!” Olivia interrupted him, putting fingers over his mouth. Even after nearly 20 years of marriage, he could still make her blush.

“Dad?” Noah’s tall figure cast a large shadow over Rafael’s book a little while later.

“ _Mijo?”_

“Do you know _Abuela’s_ recipe for _arroz con leche_ by heart? I told Jesse I’d make it for dessert.”

“Tonight?” his mother asked. “Noah, sit down, you’re giving me a kink in my neck.”

Years ago she and Rafael had laughed they’d be craning their necks to look at the boy by the time he was a teenager and they weren’t wrong. He sank down onto the warm sand at his parents’ feet.

“Yes, tonight. We were talking and it came up and I can’t believe after all these years she’s never had it so I told her I’d make it,” he explained.

“Sweetie, you’ve never made it before,” Olivia told him.

“I helped _Abuela_ lots of times, and _Papi_ you’ll help me, won’t you?” Noah knew that even at his age, throwing in the Spanish term of endearment for his father would help turn the tide in his favor. He wasn’t wrong.

Rafael’s eyes glinted with amusement. “Sure, _mijo._ I’ll help. And I think between your _mami_ and me, we can remember the recipe correctly.” He extended a hand. “Pull me up. We’ll need to go to the store for ingredients. I’m sure we don’t have what we need in the house.”

A while later, father and son were at the closest grocery store. It was an unfamiliar one, so they were walking every aisle in search of the necessary ingredients, which, fortunately weren’t anything unique. Noah pushed the cart while Rafael looked at the paper on which he’d jotted them.

“We need sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk. Those should be in the baking aisle with the sugar,” he told his son.

“What’s the difference?”

“I haven’t a clue, but you need both. There’s rice.” Rafael pointed. “Get the short grain white rice. Just a small bag.”

As they continued to shop and passed a mother pushing a small boy in a cart designed to look like a race car, Rafael was reminded of the first time he took Noah to a grocery store. The boy wanted a cart like that, he had no idea what that was and unfortunately, the store they went to didn’t have them. The overabundance of freshly baked cookies they purchased made up for the disappointment. It didn’t feel like that much time had gone by to Rafael, but here they were, twenty years later and that little boy was a grown man. A grown man in love, it seemed.

“So, this thing with Jesse,” he broached, as they searched for cinnamon sticks. “I know you said you’re not planning on rushing into anything, but it -- it seems serious.”

“I think so. I mean, we’ve known each other our whole lives and Dad, when I think about my life when I’m old, I see Jess in it.”

“Still squabbling at 85?” Rafael asked.

“What? Yeah.” Noah nodded, his blue eyes serious. “That’s what I want. And I think she does too.”

“Well, I’d like to see you finish school and get a job before --” he let the sentence drift away as he tossed the elusive cinnamon sticks into the cart, watching as some of them broke as they hit the metal mesh. “Shit. Well, we’ll garnish with pieces of them.”

“Jesse needs to finish too, Dad. She isn’t sure whether she wants to apply to the police academy or go to grad school.”

Casting a critical eye at the contents of the cart, Rafael declared them finished shopping. On the way to the front of the store to check out, they passed the pharmacy section. He placed a hand on the cart, slowing his son’s progress.

“Did we forget something?” Noah asked.

His father bit his lip. It had been a long time since he’d talked to his son about sex. But Jesse was Rollins’ daughter and he knew she wasn’t kidding about being the best shot at the table that morning. He was confident Noah and Jesse would practice safe sex. But he also knew how easy it was to get carried away in the heat of the moment and while Rafael Barba might be a feminist icon, he also believed it was the man’s responsibility to at least have protection available.

“ _Mijo,_ do you have -- I mean, do you want me to buy you some -- ?” He waved his hand in the general direction of a display of condoms.

“Dad!” Noah could feel his face getting hot. “No, I don’t need -- not that I have any here, but --”

The two men stood there in the store, not quite making eye contact, both equally uncomfortable with the topic. Then the younger took a breath and said quietly,

“Jesse and I aren’t having sex. And even if we were, we wouldn’t be doing it under the same roof with you and mom and Aunt Amanda and Uncle Sonny.” Blue eyes met green and Rafael, seeing the conviction and respect in Noah’s, realized his son had become the man he always hoped he would. “But when we do, I promise you we will be responsible.”

The _arroz con leche_ turned out exactly as Noah remembered and was well received by Jesse and her parents; Sonny having seconds which surprised no one. When the older adults were headed to bed, Olivia took her son aside.

“Dad told me about his conversation with you earlier. You make us proud, Noah. If you and Jesse want to sleep in the same room here, we’re okay with that. We know what’s it’s like to just want to sleep in someone’s arms.”

“Thanks, Mom.” He gave her a hug. Where she used to be the one to put her chin on his head, he now could nearly do that to her. “But what about Aunt Amanda and Uncle Sonny?”

“I’ll talk to Amanda. It will be fine.” She kissed his cheek. “Good night, sweet boy.”

“‘Night, Mom. We’re going for a walk on the beach. I’ll lock up when we come back.”

As Noah and Jesse walked along the sand in the moonlight, he recounted the events in the grocery store. She laughed and put her head against his shoulder.

“How embarrassing. For both of you.”

They were holding hands and Noah stopped and took Jesse’s other hand in his, moving so they stood face to face. “But I meant what I said, Jess. When I think about being our parents’ ages, I see you there with me.”

“Me too,” she told him. “I know I’m young — “

“It’s okay for you to say it but when I say it I get kicked in the ankle?” he interrupted with a smirk.

She frowned and started to pull her hands away, but he held fast to them. “I’m sorry,” Noah said.

They stood there, the waves breaking on the sand the only sound as Jesse stared him down for a minute or two before speaking again.

“I know I’m young,” she paused with an eyebrow raised, daring him to interrupt again. “But Mama always said when you find the right person you just know. It took her and Daddy longer to find each other is all. Your parents too.”

Noah nodded. He had a vague recollection of Ed Tucker, the man his mom dated before his dad. Tucker took them to Paris one summer he knew from photographs. All he remembered was the plane ride where he got to visit the cockpit and got a plastic pin of pilot’s wings. But Tucker had never played with him like his his dad did, when his parents started dating. He may have been just a child, but he could tell there was something special between them. His mom was always happier when they were together. Just like he was when he was with Jesse. The soft ocean breeze blew strands of hair across her face and he released one hand to tuck it behind her ear. Then he cupped her face, his thumb brushing across her cheekbone.

“I love you, Jess.”

“I love you, too, Noah.”

His hand slid around to the back of her head and lowered his head to kiss her tenderly at first, but with increasing passion when she slid her arms around his waist to hold him close. When they came up for air he said,

“My mom said she and dad are okay with us sharing a room while we’re here.”

Jesse gave him a squeeze and chuckled. “My mom told me the same thing. I think they’re talking to each other about us.”

The new couple spent the remainder of their spring break enjoying the beach during the day, and sleeping in each other’s arms at night. The sun brought out the freckles on Jesse’s cheeks, nose and shoulders, much to her annoyance and Noah’s delight. He kissed them every night in bed, telling her he hoped all their children inherited them. After the fourth night he said it, she pushed him onto his back and straddled his hips.

“Barba,” she whispered, putting one hand on either side of his head and leaning down kiss him. “You know you’re going to have to make love to me for that to happen.”

“Rollins,” he said, returning the kiss and grasping her hips firmly, letting her know how much he wanted to do just that. “I told you I fully intend to. But not here. Not under the same roof as our parents.”

“When? We’ll be back to school next week.” She was kissing his neck and rolling her hips in a manner that made Noah want to reconsider what he’d told his father.

“If you must know, I was planning on having you up to my place as soon as I can talk to Gable and kick him out for a weekend.” He grinned at her. “But if you don’t want to do tha — aahh, Jesse, what are you doing?”

She had moved one of her hands and was palming him through the lounge pants he wore to bed.

“I thought I’d return the favor from the other day,” she whispered in his ear.

He twitched under her hand and she grasped his length, making him draw a sharp breath.

“Jess — I, ah, I don’t think….” Noah lost the power of speech when she slid down his body and placed her mouth between his legs. He could feel her hot breath through the thin fabric and opened his knees to allow her to settle between his legs. Jesse’s lips moved up and down his length, the barrier growing damp.

Pulse pounding in his ears and below his waist, Noah instinctively lifted his hips, wanting more. She reached for the waistband of his pants and he raised his hips once more, allowing her to pull them down, and free him from their confines. Pressing a kiss to his stomach, she grasped his erection with her hand, making him groan softly.  Then he reached down and ran his fingers through the silken hair at the back of her head to guide her mouth closer when suddenly Jesse pulled away and sat back on her heels at his feet.

“Noah, I - I can’t,” she whispered, covering her face with her hands.

He immediately moved to a sitting position and pulled her into his arms.

“Jess, I’m sorry.” He stroked her hair, feeling her heart pounding against his chest, his stomach sick with guilt at the thought he tried to force her to do something she wasn’t ready to do. “I thought when you started with your mouth down there, that’s what you were going to do. But I shouldn’t have put my hand on your head. I should have just let you -- “

“Noah, it’s okay. You didn’t know,” she said softly. “I’m sure that’s what it looked like, felt like.”

“I still shouldn’t have,” Noah said firmly, tipping her chin up so he could look into her eyes best he could in the room which was only lit by moonlight coming through the window. “Jesse, I love you. I would never force you to do anything. I hope you know that.”

She nodded. “I do.”

He kissed her gently. Lingeringly. Any arousal he’d felt before was long gone.

“Let’s get some sleep. We only have two more days before we leave.” He kissed her temple and said, “I’ll be right back.”  Releasing her from his embrace, he slide out of bed and pulled up his pants. Then he walked to the adjoining bathroom.

While Noah was gone, Jesse resettled herself under the covers and sighed. She felt bad she hadn’t yet repaid him for the pleasure he gave her in the ocean. But she just couldn’t do what he thought she was going to do. She’d dated a guy the year before who insisted she try with her mouth and when she did, he grabbed her head with both hands and thrust himself into her mouth so hard she gagged and nearly vomited on him. That was the end of their relationship. When Noah’s hand was on the back of her head, without even any pressure, she was reminded of that experience and had to pull away. She’d told her mom about it, swearing her to never tell her dad, because she knew he’d hunt down the boy to at the very least give him a Carisi lecture. But she wanted to tell Noah about it so he would understand. When he returned from the bathroom and climbed into bed, she rolled onto her side to look at him.

“Noh, I want to explain about before,” she said.

“Jesse, you don’t have to explain anything to me.” He put a hand over the one of hers that was laying on the sheet between them. The other one was propping up her head.

“I want to,” Jesse insisted and before he could argue anymore, proceeded to tell him the story.

By the time she was done, his blue eyes were burning with emotion. He was beyond pissed at the guy who had no respect for the beautiful woman looking at him, but he loved her even more for wanting to share the experience with him.

“Oh, Jess,” he said. “Come here.”

Noah opened his arms and she scooted across the short space into his embrace, laying her her head on his bare chest. He held her tightly and kissed the top of her head. They fell asleep like that and woke in a similar position, except that her leg was flung across his. As was habit, Noah was already awake when Jesse began to stir. He’d been laying there trying to think about anything that would help prevent the state of partial arousal he woke in from becoming a full fledged erection. He thought about his tax law class, one of the most boring courses he was taking. He tried to remember his batting statistics from his last year playing baseball in high school. He was going through the recipe for _arroz con leche_ step by step when an image of Jesse licking her spoon the night before filled his head and she snuggled closer, her knee pressing against his groin. He drew in a breathe through his nose. Mistake. He inhaled the scent of Jesse’s shampoo and matching body wash. It was a little flowery and a little spicy and just made his body respond more enthusiastically. He exhaled but it came out as more of a quiet sighing groan.

“Noah? You okay?” the blonde asked.

“Fine. Go back to sleep,” he replied softly, trying to come up with something else dull and monotonous to think about.

“You don’t sound fine. And your heart’s pounding.” Jesse ran her palm across his chest, stopping on his pectoral muscle.  She snuggled closer, her knee grazing his penis that was now completely erect, and straining against his cotton pants. “Oh.” Noah felt her smile against his chest. “I never did return that favor last night, did I?”

“Huh-uh.” His eyes were still closed while he continued to try and find something to take his mind off the memory of her hand -- and mouth -- on him through the fabric the night before.

“How about if I do that now?” she suggested, her hand moving down his chest to his waist.

“Jess, you don’t have to. Besides, there’s nothing to clean up with.” Noah was trying to remember the Yankees starting lineup from the first season his dad took him to a game.

“Wait here.”

He opened his eyes finally when she slid from his arms and the bed and padding quickly to the bathroom, returning a moment later with a hand towel, which she held up for him to see. Jesse climbed back into the bed, laying on her side alongside him, placed her palm on his toned abdomen and slid her fingers beneath the waistband of his pants.

They closed again when he felt her cool fingers grasp his hardness and begin gently stroking him and any thoughts of tax law, baseball or recipes disappeared from his head. Ever since their first night in the motel room, he’d wondered what her hands would feel like on him. He shoved his pants down, exposing his heated skin to the cool air of the bedroom and kicked them free of his legs.

“Jesse,” he drew out the last vowel, his voice raising in volume without realizing.

She raised herself up on her elbow and covered his mouth with hers to quiet him lest any of their parents were awake. Noah lifted one hand to run his fingers through her hair at the back of her head. His other one fisted the sheet when her tongue entered his mouth and mimicked the rhythm of her hand. When she pulled her mouth away to breathe, a low moan rumbled from his throat.

“God, yes,” he rasped, lifting his hips into her hand. “Feels - so - good.”

It didn’t take much longer for Noah to reach his release, pulling Jesse back down to kiss her so she swallowed his exclamation of pleasure. For a few moments afterward, they exchanged tender kisses before she handed him the towel to clean up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading! I have at least a couple more chapters of this in store.
> 
> PS...this is the recipe that Noah and Rafael made. It's essentially rice pudding. 
> 
> http://www.mybigfatcubanfamily.com/2016/07/arroz-con-leche-recipe/


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A misunderstanding leads to some angst for our lovebirds and we get to meet Noah's best friend Gable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Tuesday!! This is a little longer than previous chapters but I think you'll enjoy it. 
> 
> Thank you adrianna_m_scovill for allowing me to borrow her original character, Noah's best friend, Gable. If you haven't read her fics, Taking Names and Taken Names you should do so immediately upon completion of this chapter!
> 
> As always, thanks for reading along and please let me know what you think!

The morning they were departing the beach house to return north to work and school, Jesse was headed to the kitchen to fill her travel mug with coffee when she heard Olivia and Rafael talking. She froze just outside the door when she heard Noah’s mother say,

“I don’t know, Rafael. She’s been like family for so long I’m not sure a relationship like that is a good idea.”

“Liv, they’re both adults,” Rafael replied. “I’m sure if they want to make it work, they can.”

Jesse’s face went hot and her hands cold. _They couldn’t be talking about her and Noah, could they?_ Everyone seemed to be happy that they were together. She wanted to either enter the kitchen or flee, but her legs felt like lead. She shook her head. It was early. Maybe she wasn’t awake yet. Then Olivia spoke again.

“You’re right.  And if it doesn't work out, he can always look elsewhere, right?”

 _Elsewhere_? Jesse didn’t know whether she should be angry or hurt, but she wasn’t going to stand there any longer. The desire for coffee gone -- she didn’t think anything would stay in her stomach at the moment anyway -- she forced her legs to turn and walk away from the kitchen. She climbed the stairs on numb legs and went to her bedroom, sinking down on the bed. It’s comforter was still straight, the throw pillows still in place against the headboard because she hadn’t spent a night in it the entire week. Maybe she should have, she thought. Maybe Aunt Liv thought they moved too fast sharing a bed. But Noah said she’d told him it was okay. Jesse chewed on her lower lip, replaying the overheard conversation again and again in her head.

“Jess?” She didn’t hear Noah calling her name until he came into the room. “Jess, are you ready? I don’t want to make the trip home as long as the one down here, enjoyable as our detour was.” He winked at her.

“I, um --” she hesitated. _Should she ride back to New York with him and tell him what she’d just heard or keep silent?_ She wasn’t sure if she could spend nearly ten hours in the car with him and not mention it. But if his mom really felt that way about her, surely she would say something to him about it.  “Um, you know what? I’m going to ride back with Mama and Daddy. I didn’t spend much time with them this week.”

It was a lie; she had spent plenty of time with her parents. They both had. But she needed time to think about how to address this with him. Away from his distracting presence. She lifted her head and as she looked into his blue eyes her heart twisted and a lump formed in her throat. He’d said he loved her. _But if his parents thought their relationship was a bad idea, could they overcome that?_

“Hey, are you okay?” He took her hands in his and pulled her to her feet to stand in front of him, their bodies barely touching. She nodded, trying to swallow away the lump.

“I just don’t want to go back to reality, is all.”

Noah slid his arms around her, pulling her close. She put her arms around his waist and her head on his shoulder, wishing they could just stay in North Carolina.

“I know, _mi pequeña_ ,” he said. “Neither do I. But we’re just a train ride away from each other and there’s only six weeks of classes left. Then I’ll be back in the city for the summer. I have a couple of job offers I’m considering. One is with Aunt Rita’s firm.”

He hadn’t called her little one in years. When Noah hit his first growth spurt and was more than a few inches taller than she was, he would call her _pequeño_ just to annoy her. But now, used as a term of endearment, it had the potential to turn her into a puddle of goo. Jesse nodded against his shirt, trying to fill her nostrils with his scent to carry back home with her.

“Hey,” he pulled back a little and tipped his head down to look at her face. “And don’t forget, as soon as I get back and talk to Gable, we’ll pick a weekend that you can come up and we’ll spend it,” he lowered his voice to a husky whisper, “naked and in bed.”

A shiver ran through her despite her concerns that their relationship might be over before it had really even began and she grabbed his face with both hands and kissed him passionately, carding her fingers through his curls. Surprised, but not one to turn down a good kiss, Noah responded with equal fervor. Finally, she pulled away.

“You sure you don’t want to ride home with me?” he asked, taking in her reddened, slightly swollen lips and brushing a thumb across them.

Jesse gazed into his blue eyes and very nearly said yes. Because she did. She wanted to ride next to him in the car, in a cocoon of just the two of them all the way back to New York City and pretend she hadn’t heard what she did downstairs. But she reluctantly shook her head and was saved from further conversation by her father’s voice from downstairs.

“Jesse! Noah! Let’s get a move on! We have to lock up and return the keys before we can leave.”

Noah picked up her suitcase from the floor and carried it out the door and down the stairs, Jesse trailing behind him.

“Your dad’s car?” he asked one last time. She forced a smile.

“Please.”

“My car?” Carisi echoed as Noah went out the door. “I thought you were riding back with Noah?”

“No, I decided I wanted to ride with you and Mama. Is that okay?”

“Of course it is. We can talk about your feelings on the academy.”

Amanda entered the foyer to catch the end of the conversation and raised her eyebrows at her husband behind their daughter’s back and got a slight shrug in return so she said nothing. The hour was still early when they got on the highway, so neither of her parents expected much conversation from Jesse at first, for which she was grateful. She would have preferred to put earbuds in her ears and listen to music, but didn’t want to appear like the rude teenager she used to be on car trips, and settled for tipping her head back against the seat and closing her eyes. She was verging on actually falling asleep when she heard her mother’s voice.

“Why do you suppose Jesse decided to ride back with us?”

“No idea, ‘Manda,” replied her father. “Noah came down with her suitcase and asked if she wanted it in our car and she said yes. So she obviously had already told him she wasn’t going back with him.”

“Do you think something happened between them?” her mother asked.

“I don’t know. Why don’t you ask her?”

“No. You know Jesse. If there’s something she wants to tell us, she’ll tell us when she’s ready.”

“You’re right.”

“Of course I am.”

Jesse heard the affection in her mother’s voice and smiled.

Since they all had to take the same highway back north, Noah was behind the Carisi’s vehicle at first and could see Jesse in the back seat. He couldn’t figure out why she had changed her mind all of a sudden about traveling back with him. He thought she had been looking forward to the car ride home together. At least that’s what she told him. He certainly was. He wanted to hang on to every minute they had together because he knew once she was back in New York and he in Boston, both of them busy with classes and preparing for finals, there wouldn’t be much time for phone calls or Facetiming. _Was she having second thoughts about them? Had he done something wrong? Did it have anything to with the story she’d told him?_  He needed to sit down with her and talk. It really wasn’t like Jesse to run away from a problem. Maybe he could return to the city the following weekend. Or maybe she could come to Boston. He wondered if she would still want to. Before he could ruminate on the issue further, the call was filled with the ringtone for his dad’s number. Noah pressed the button on the steering wheel to connect the call through the vehicle’s Bluetooth system.

“Hi, Dad.”

“Hi, _mijo._ I thought Jesse was riding back with you?” Rafael’s voice came through the speakers.

“So did I. She changed her mind this morning,” Noah told him.

“And she didn’t tell you why?” Olivia added.

Noah shrugged, although he knew they couldn’t see him. “She said she wanted to spend time with her mom and dad.”

“Did you have a fight?” his mother asked.

He huffed a laugh. “Not that I was part of, Mom. I don’t know what’s going on.”

“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Olivia soothed. “It will be fine.” He may have been 24 years old, but he was still her baby and she hated to hear him upset.

In her parents’ car, Jesse eventually did fall asleep, waking as it was stopping in a shopping plaza. Sitting up higher in the seat she yawned.

“Hi, Baby,” Amanda said. “Your dad wants a snack and I need a bathroom. Want to come?”

Spotting one of her favorite bagel shops, Jesse nodded in its direction. “Sure. Can we go there?”

A chocolate chip bagel and some coffee later, Jesse felt more awake. Once they were back on the highway, she decided to start a conversation of her own and asked them what they thought about her applying to the police academy, to forestall any questions about her and Noah. She was legitimately considering it but hadn’t weighed the pros and cons. By the time they reached Pennsylvania, she still wasn’t any closer to making a decision, because she hadn’t really listened to what her parents said; rather her mind had circled back to Olivia’s words: _“She’s been like family for so long I don’t think a relationship like that is a good idea.”_  Jesse didn’t understand where that would have come from. Why would she think just because they’d been close all their lives they couldn’t have a successful romantic relationship.

Since he didn’t need to drop off Jesse in New York, Noah decided to drive straight back to Harvard in the car, instead of parking it at his parents’ and taking the train. The additional drive time gave him more time to think and he was determined to get to the bottom of his girlfriend’s reason for changing plans. He tried calling her, but it went to her voicemail.

“Hey, Jess. It’s me. Hope you and your mom and dad made it back okay. Give me a call, please?”

Jesse listened to the message when she got back to her dorm room from the shower and considered sending a text in return, but hearing Noah’s voice for the first time since early that morning had her hitting the send button to call him right back.

“Noh, sorry, I was in the shower,” she said as soon as he answered.

He was sprawled in his bed, having been ready to go to sleep. Her statement made him picture her naked and wet and he ran his free hand through his curls, holding back a frustrated groan at the mental image. Instead he said,

“No problem. You guys get back okay, then?”

“Yeah.” She ran a comb through her wet hair.

“So I talked to Gable. He was planning on going home this weekend anyway. Family thing he has to go to,” Noah told her. “Do you want to come up? You’re done with classes early on Fridays, right?”

“I am.” Jesse chewed on her bottom lip. She really wanted to see Noah again. But she hadn’t forgotten what she’d overheard that morning in the beach house. “Can I let you know later in the week? My professors like to hit us hard with assignments the week after break.”

“Sure.” Noah got the feeling she was deliberately trying to be evasive. “I miss you already, babe.”

Jesse tried not to sigh audibly. “Me too. It’s going to be hard sleeping alone.”

“I know,” he told her. “This bed suddenly seems too big.”

She closed her eyes, picturing him in bed, talking to her on the phone. Maybe she was being stupid, she thought. Maybe Aunt Liv wasn’t talking about them. _But what else could it have been?_

The two of them exchanged texts and a couple calls throughout the week, and each time Noah asked her if she would be able to make the trip to Boston for the weekend. Each time, Jesse made up an excuse why she hadn’t decided. Thursday evening she told him she wasn’t going to be able to come see him; that she had a big paper due on Monday she needed to finish. It wasn’t a lie. She did have one to turn in at the beginning of the week. What Jesse didn’t tell him was it was mostly done and just needed a few tweaks and proofread; something she could easily do at his place or Sunday night.

“I understand,” he said, even though he didn’t. “Next weekend then? Gable might be around, but we don’t have to….” Noah’s voice trailed off as he had a sudden thought and got up to close his bedroom door, even though he was sure Gable wasn’t eavesdropping.

“Listen, Jess, if this is about having sex, we don’t have to do anything you’re not ready to do. You know, that, right? Hell, I’ll wait until our wedding night if you want to.”

Tears came to Jesse’s eyes at his words. He wouldn’t talk about marrying her if he knew what his mother had said, she thought.

“I know,” she told him, swallowing the lump in her throat. “It’s not that. Really.”

“Then what is it?”

“I — I just have to finish this paper is all. I need to get a good grade in the class,” she offered lamely. Again, it wasn’t a lie. She did need a good grade in the class. But she’d have to do something really bad — like not turn in the paper and fail the final — for that to happen.

“Okay. You work on your paper, _mi pequeño._ I'll call you on Monday,” Noah told her. “I love you.”

“All right,” Jesse choked out. “I love you, too.” She ended the call, tears running down her face.

Noah put the phone down on his bed before he threw it. He knew she was crying when she hung up and he was angry and confused as to why. Throwing open his bedroom door hard enough to make it slam against the wall, he stalked out into the living area of the apartment he shared with his best friend from childhood, Gable, who was sitting on the couch playing a video game on the television. He paused it as Noah entered the room.

“If you put a hole in the wall we won’t get the security deposit back,” he said lightly.

“I know. Wanna go out? I need to kill some brain cells.”

“You may not have class tomorrow, but I do,” Gable reminded him. “However, I’ll be your DD, if you want.”

Being a designated driver was a joke with them, since most of the places they frequented were within walking distance of their apartment and normally neither of them had a car in town.

“Sure. Let’s go.” Noah grabbed his jacket off a nearby hook and pocketed his keys.

“Hang on, let me get out of the game,” Gable said.

A half an hour later,  Noah was on his second beer and Gable had just gotten a refill on his cola. Full sugar, none of that diet crap, he told the waitress, a cute redhead who was new, she told them. Her second night. They were seated at one of the high tables that Noah preferred because the tall stools let him stretch out his legs. It was one of the local bars that catered primarily to graduate students. That meant on a Thursday night it wasn’t full of undergrads hell bent on getting plastered. Although, Noah thought, that might not be a bad idea tonight.

“So you gonna’ tell me what’s going on with you and Shorty?”

Gable pulled the paper off the straw he wasn’t using in a tight accordion and placed a drop of liquid on it to make it expand and grow like one of those smoke snakes they used to light when they were kids. Noah had texted him when he and Jesse got stuck in Virginia Beach. Waking him up in fact, after she’d gone running from the room that morning, kicking himself and asking Gable for advice. Gable had known for years those two would end up together. He was surprised it had taken them this long. But now it seemed, there was trouble in paradise. Noah drained his mug and signaled to the redhead for another. Then he turned his blue eyes on his best friend and said,

“That’s the problem. I don’t fucking know. Things were good — really good — all week and then the morning we were leaving she tells me she doesn’t want to ride back with me. She’s going to ride with her mom and dad.”

“Did she tell you why?” Gable asked.

“Some lame excuse about spending time with them. Thanks,” he said to the waitress, who flashed him a flirtatious smile as she put the frosted mug in front of him. He didn’t even notice.

“Why do you say it was lame?”

“Because we’d just spent a whole week together! All of us. Jess and I didn’t go off and do things together. Neither did our parents. We all just hung out together.”

“And now she doesn’t want to come up here to see you.”

“She says she does,  but then she found a reason not to. There’s something going on, Gabe. I just wish she’d tell me what it is,” Noah said, looking glumly into the amber liquid. He’d been angry before, but nearly three beers later, he was becoming morose.

“You said you love her, and she loves you?” Gable was using his glass to make the Olympic Rings in water on the table.

“Yeah. I do.”

“Then go home and talk to her in person, Noh. Forget the phone calls,” he said. “Drive down there tomorrow and talk to her. If you work it out and want to bring her back for the weekend, remember I have that Bris to go to. I won’t be here.”

Gable shuddered. He got the whole ritual circumcision thing, but making a public ceremony of it wasn’t his idea of a good time. However, his grandmother was expecting him to be there. It was his cousin’s baby. The first great-grandchild. Noah put his mug down on the wooden table with a thunk, making the beer inside slosh around, nearly over the edge.

“You’re right. You’re always right,” he declared. “I’ll go see her tomorrow and find out what the hell is going on.”

“Good. Now let’s order some food. I’m hungry.”

Friday morning, Noah was up at his usual early hour. He decided to go for a run before heading to New York. As his feet pounded away at the pavement around campus, he decided he wasn’t going to accept any more of Jesse’s excuses. If they were going to be together, he needed to know why she was avoiding him. Suddenly he stopped short, his breath catching in his chest, not from running but from the thought that just occurred to him. _Maybe she doesn’t want to be together. Maybe she’s decided we’re a mistake and she’s trying to figure out how to let me down easy._ Noah bent at the waist, hands on his knees and took deep breaths, the thought of losing Jesse making it hard to breathe and his stomach churn. _Stop it,_ he chided himself. _You don’t know that’s what it is. Don’t make assumptions until you have all the facts._

“Innocent until proven guilty,” he said out loud, straightening up. He looked at his watch. He had plenty of time to get back, shower and drive to New York to find Jesse after her class.

That morning found Jesse awake earlier than usual. She hadn’t slept well after getting off the phone with Noah. She looked at the clock. Her mom would be up, she knew. If she called, she knew she’d end up in tears again, so she sent a text.

_Mama, I’m going to take the train to see Noah today. Just wanted to let you and Daddy know._

As expected, she got a reply right away.

**_Okay, baby. Is everything all right? You’re up early._ **

_I hope so,_ she typed, then backspaced to delete the words. If she said that, her phone would be ringing. So she settled for

_Yes, I’ll lyk when I get back._

**_All right. Tell him we said hello._ **

_I will._

Amanda put her phone down on the nightstand. “Hmmm,” she said.

“Hmmm, what?” asked her husband, walking into the bedroom and handing her a cup of coffee.

“Thanks. Oh, probably nothing. That was Jesse. She just wanted to let us know she’s taking the train up to see Noah today. It just seemed like there was something she wasn’t saying.”

“Yeah, like how much she wants to be alone with her boyfriend when neither her parents or his aren’t around?” Carisi sat down on the bed beside his wife and kissed her. “Don’t play detective and look for things that aren’t there. You want the shower first or can I?”

Noah decided to surprise Jesse when her class let out. He found a bench outside the building and waited, grateful the sun was shining. It wasn’t quite as warm in New York City as it had been in North Carolina the week before. Students began streaming out of the building and he looked for Jesse’s familiar blonde head. He didn’t see her. He waited a few minutes but it was clear she hadn’t been in the class, so he headed to her dormitory, wondering if she’d skipped class; something that was unusual for her to do unless she was sick.

He knocked on her door and got no answer. He knocked again.

“Jesse?”

Noah had pulled out his phone and was about to call her when the door to the room beside hers opened and a girl popped her head out.

“She’s not here,” she said. “Oh, you must be Noah. Saw you on her Instagram from spring break.”

“Yeah. Where is she? Did she go home?” he asked. Normally he’d have exchanged pleasantries but he just wanted to find his girlfriend and clear things up.

The girl shrugged. “I don’t know. She said something about going to the train station.”

“Shit!” Noah turned to leave then turned back. “Thanks.”

He all but sprinted back to his car in the parking lot. The only place Jesse could be going on the train would be to see him. He pulled up the train schedule on his phone. It was about a five hour trip. If she skipped her last class she could have almost a two hour head start, because it would take him four to get back. Why didn’t she tell him she was coming to Boston? For the same reason he didn’t tell her he was going to New York. Noah groaned in frustration at the Friday traffic getting out of the city and resisted the urge to honk his horn. Instead he dialed Gable’s number.

“Have you left yet?” he asked when his friend’s greeting filled the car.

“No. Why?”

“Apparently Jesse had the same idea as me. She took the train up there this morning while I was driving to see her. I’m on my way back, but I know she’s going to beat me there. Do you think you can wait to leave until she arrives? So she can get in the apartment? Oh come on! Sorry, not you. Traffic.”

“I figured. It being Friday afternoon and all,” Gable told him. “Sure, I can wait a little bit.”

“Thanks. I owe you one,” said Noah.

“Just don’t invite me to your kid’s Bris and we’ll call it even. No wait, you’re not Jewish. You people take care of that in the hospital. Where it’s sterile. And done by a doctor,” replied Gable. “I guess we’re already even.”

Noah laughed. “I’ll think of something.”

Gable ended the call and turned to look at the blonde sitting cross-legged on their couch.

“He’s on his way back.”

“I gathered,” said Jesse. “Thanks for not telling him I was here.”

“Only because he didn’t come right and ask me, Jess. Noah and I don’t lie to each other. You know that.”

“I know. I know.” She pulled her hair down from the messy bun she’d put it in that morning and ran her hands through it and looked at Noah’s best friend; the man who was as much a brother to her as Noah since the boys had been inseparable growing up. “I hope he’s not too pissed at me.”

“I don’t think he knows how to feel. What is going on?” Gable looked at his watch. He had a little time before he had to leave to make it to his grandmother’s for dinner and he sat in the chair opposite the couch. “I thought you guys were good?”

“I thought so too.”

“So what happened?”

“I heard Aunt Liv and Uncle Rafa talking. The morning we were leaving to come home,” Jesse said.

“Talking about you and Noah?” Gable prompted. She nodded. “What did they say?”

“Aunt Liv said, ‘She’s been like family for so long I’m not sure a relationship like that is a good idea.’ Then Uncle Rafa said we were both adults and if we want to make it work we can. But then Liv told him he was right and if it didn’t work out, Noah could always look elsewhere.”

Jesse’s brown eyes filled with tears again. It was the first time she’d repeated the conversation anywhere but in her own head and hearing them out loud a second time was just as bad as the first.

“No!” Gable couldn’t believe Noah’s mom would say such a thing and he said as much. Jesse nodded her head, a tear running down her cheek. Gable offered her his handkerchief. He had gotten ones from Mr. Barba on his 13th birthday as well.

“Jesse, you have to tell Noah. There has to be some mistake,” he said.

“That’s what I keep telling myself. That’s why I decided to come up here today. I didn’t think he would drive down to see me,” she laughed and Gable thought it sounded slightly hysterical. He looked at his watch again. He needed to leave or he was going to be late. One was not late to his grandmother’s Shabbat meal.

“I need to go. Noah won’t be here for at least two more hours,” he said, hoping his best friend didn’t get a speeding ticket on his way back. There was no one in Massachusetts to pull strings for him. Not like in New York. Not that Noah would let his parents or their friends do it anyway. “Help yourself to anything in the kitchen. What little there is. We just did laundry so there’s clean towels if you want to take a shower.”

Gable stood up and kissed Jesse on the cheek. “It will be okay, Shorty. He’s crazy about you, you know.”

“I know. Thanks, Gable.”

Once he had gone, Jesse went to investigate the kitchen. She was hungry, not having had breakfast. Gable was right. There wasn’t much. Typical, she thought. But there was peanut butter and jelly and some of _Abuela’s_ homemade bread, so she made herself a sandwich. Eating it, she walked into the bathroom. For two men sharing an apartment, the bathroom was surprisingly clean. She ran the water in the tub to get a quick shower, having skipped that as well before leaving New York that morning. After her shower, Jesse peeked into the two bedrooms to see which one was Noah’s. Surprisingly, his was the messier of the two. His NYPD t-shirt was flung on the unmade bed. Picking it up, she held it to her face. It smelled like him and reminded her of the nights they’d spent in each other’s arms in North Carolina. She yawned. The warm shower and food in her stomach, combined with the fact she’d gotten little sleep the night before made the bed look very inviting. Stripping off her own sweatshirt and jeans, she pulled Noah’s over her head and climbed under the covers. It didn’t take long for her to fall asleep, the scent of him on his pillow filling her nostrils.

It was dusk when Noah pulled into his space in the parking lot. He didn’t see Gable’s car but wasn’t expecting to. He knew he would have left in time to make the Shabbat meal at his grandmother’s. Looking up at their apartment, he didn’t see any lights on. Surely Jesse had arrived by now. He eschewed the elevator and used the stairs to get to the third floor, his long legs taking two at a time. Noah paused at the door to catch his breath a little. He tried the knob, finding it locked. Using his key, he went inside. The apartment was dark, save for the light they always left on over the stove. He flipped the wall switch, turning on the table lamps.

“Jesse? Are you here?” She wasn’t in the main room or the kitchen. The only other option was his room. He went down the hall and stopped in the doorway when he saw her sound asleep in his bed, blonde hair spread out over one pillow like Goldilocks, her arms cradling another.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The misunderstanding is cleared up and Jesse and Noah take the next step in their relationship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well friends, this is the last chapter for the story that was only going to be a one-shot from a single prompt. I know from all the comments that you all have loved it as much as I have. Thank you for all your kinds words! Even though this story is over, I'm not done writing about our next generation SVU ship. If anyone has a prompt or idea, you can contact me on tumblr or twitter. Also, I created a Pinterest board for this story that includes what I imagine grown up Noah and Jesse to look like. Thank you to adrianna_m_scovilll for finding them for me. Don't look too closely at the one of Noah, because you have to pretend his eyes are blue! I still need to add things to it.
> 
> As always, please let me know what you think! (And none of these characters are my own design. Everyone but Gable belongs to NBC.)
> 
> PS: apologies if my Spanish is wrong. Please let me know and I'll fix it. I am at the mercy of Google translate as my high school language was French. : )

Noah’s heart swelled with emotion as he looked at Jesse. He was so happy to see her again, it didn’t matter that she wasn’t awake. He crossed the room and sat down beside her, reaching to brush her hair away from her face before leaning down to kiss her forehead. She stirred and rolled onto her back. He saw that she was wearing his t-shirt and he smiled.

“Jesse,” he said softly.  “Jess, wake up.”

Her eyes fluttered open to see him sitting there on the bed. She wasn’t sure if she was really awake at first, or dreaming.

“Noh?”

“Hi, sleepy head.” He ran his thumb across her cheek. “Why didn’t you tell me you changed your mind about coming up here?”

She shot to a sitting position and flung her arms around his neck.

“Oh, Noah I’m so sorry! I should have just told you last weekend! I’ve been so miserable this whole time thinking your mom doesn’t think we’ll work out!”

Noah had initially returned her embrace with enthusiasm, but now he took her by the arms and set her away from him so he could look at her in the fading daylight of the room.

“What do you mean thinking my mom doesn’t think we’ll work out? Did she tell you that?”

Jesse shook her head and all the words she’d been holding back for the last week came pouring out. She told him what she’d overheard in the beach house and that was why she changed her mind about riding home with him and why she’d been making excuses about coming to see him all week.

“But last night, you were so understanding when I exaggerated about my paper -- it’s nearly done, really -- and told me you loved me, I hardly slept all night. So this morning I decided to skip classes and take the train up here to see you and tell you everything, because God, Noah, I love you so much, but I can’t believe your mom wouldn’t want us together and if she didn’t, how could you go against her?”

She finished speaking and looked at Noah, who had been silent the whole time.

“There has to be some kind of mistake,” he said fiercely. “My mom would never say that. She loves you Jess. Like her own daughter.”

“That’s what I thought, too.”

“Come on, we’re going to call them right now.” He took her by the hand and stood to help her out of the bed. She threw back the covers to reveal she wore only her panties under his shirt. He bit back a groan at the sight of her bare legs.  “Once we get this straightened out though, Rollins…..”

Noah led Jesse into the living area, dialing his mother’s cell phone at the same time, putting it on speaker, so they could both hear.

“Mom,” he said as soon as she answered, “did you tell Dad you didn’t think Jesse and my relationship was going to work?”

“Noah, honey, what are you talking about?” Olivia and Rafael had been getting ready to go out to a movie; something they had more time to do now that she was retired and he a judge.

“Jesse is here with me and I have you on speaker so she can hear you. Did you or did you not tell Dad that our relationship was a bad idea. What exactly did you hear, Jess?”

“Aunt Liv, I heard you tell Uncle Rafa ‘She’s been like family for so long I’m not sure a relationship like that is a good idea.’ when you were in the kitchen the morning we left the beach house,” Jesse repeated. “I-I thought you were talking about us.”

She stepped closer to Noah. He put an arm around her.

“Did you really say that, Mom?” Noah demanded.

“ _Mijo,”_ his father’s voice came over the phone, speaking sternly. They were on speaker at their end as well, it seemed. “First of all, do not speak to your mother like that, _¿tú entiendes?_ Second, that was absolutely not what we were talking about.”

“ _Si. Lo siento, Papi."_ Noah lowered his voice and softened his tone. "But if it wasn’t, then what was it about?”

“We were talking about you working for Rita’s firm this summer. Your mother thought she might be too close to you to treat you impartially enough,” Rafael explained.

“That’s who I meant when I said that. Oh, Jesse, why didn’t you just come in the kitchen and ask me?” Olivia said.

“I was afraid,” Jesse admitted. “I was scared you didn’t want Noah and I to be together and that you were going to tell him that.”

“No, honey! I’d never think that!” Olivia told them. “I think you two are perfect for each other. I’m -- we’re very happy for you. Please believe that.”

“We do, Mom,” Noah said, looking at Jesse, who nodded.

“Yes. I’m sorry I jumped to conclusions, Aunt Liv.”

“It’s okay, Jesse. I can understand how you might misunderstand.”

“Noah, Jesse, your mother and I have a movie to see tonight,” Rafael said. “So if we’ve cleared up the confusion, we’re going to be on our way.”

“Yes, thanks, Dad. Thanks, Mom. Have a good time.”

“Next time you aren’t sure what I’m talking about, just ask me,” Olivia said gently.

“I will,” Jesse replied.

All four of them said goodbye and Noah ended the call. Jesse sank down on the couch and covered her face with her hands.

“I’m so stupid!” she said, her voice muffled.

Noah moved to kneel in front of her and grasped her wrists, gently pulling her hands away so he could look at her.

“No, you’re not,” he said. “I would have thought the same thing.”

“But it caused such a problem. You probably thought I was avoiding you because I was going to break up with you,” Jesse told him.

“I can’t say it didn’t cross my mind, Jess,” he admitted. “But I’m so glad it wasn’t. I’m just sorry you spent a week being so upset. I don’t like to see you unhappy.”

Noah leaned in and kissed her gently. She hummed against his lips. “I’m happy now.”

“Good. Can I try and make you even happier?”

He put his hands on her bare thighs where the bottom of his t-shirt ended and moved his thumbs in slow circles on her smooth skin. Jesse met his gaze. She knew what he meant, and the thought sent a warm flush through her body that ended between her legs. Putting her arms around Noah’s neck, she pulled him closer for another kiss. Before their lips met she said softly,

“Yes.”

The kiss began slowly but increased in intensity as Noah slid his hands up her legs to her hips under his shirt. He tugged on her hips to pull her closer harder than he intended and she came off the cushion into his chest, pushing him backward. His grip on her took Jesse along and they ended up in a tangle of limbs, the kiss turning to laughter.

Noah gave her a squeeze and said, “This floor’s too hard and cold to stay here.” He rolled to his feet and pulled her up and close to him. “Bedroom? Unless you’ve changed your mind. We don’t have to —“

“Noah,” Jesse interrupted, reaching between their bodies for his belt and opening the buckle, watching his eyes widen in surprise. “I have not changed.” She pulled it from the loops of his jeans. “My mind.” And dropped it on the ground.

Then she smoothed her hands up his chest over his sweater to wind her arms around his neck and pull his head down to kiss his cheek and trail her lips up to nip at his earlobe and whisper, “Have you?”

Jesse squeaked in surprise when Noah scooped her up in his arms bridal style in response and started toward his bedroom. He paused for a moment to navigate the doorway so her legs didn’t hit the frame then put a knee on the mattress to put her down before straightening and removing his jeans and sweater, leaving him in boxers and an undershirt. Then he lay down beside her, sweeping a palm from her knee to hip and coming to rest on her waist beneath his NYPD t-shirt that he had decided looked better on her. His blue eyes were dark as he gazed at her. Noah was nervous and felt like she could hear his heart pounding. He loved Jesse and he wanted her. Of that there was no doubt. But being her first lover meant a lot to him and was slightly terrifying. He had heard the first time for girls could be painful and he didn’t want to hurt her.

“Noh?” Jesse touched his face. She knew he could work things to death in his head and suspected that’s where he was going. “Don’t overthink this.”

“I just want to do it right,” he admitted, his hand moving across her skin at the waistband of her panties. He hadn’t seen them, but knew they were lacy from the texture under his fingers and wondered what color they were.

“You are doing it right,” she assured him, scratching her fingers through the scruff on his face that he hadn’t shaved off since spring break and sliding them into his curls before pulling his head down to kiss him.

She bit gently on his lower lip then soothed it with her tongue, making him open his mouth and take control of the kiss, teasing with his tongue the way he’d learned she liked. When she whimpered and arched against him, seeking more contact, Noah stopped thinking and went on instinct. Soon, both shirts had been shed and after only two fumbles, which made her giggle, he managed to unhook her bra and pull it from her body. He stopped for a moment to gaze at her, making her blush a little. He’d touched her breasts before but never seen them uncovered. The freckles that were on her cheeks also dusted across her chest and were still slightly darkened from the sun. Noah bent his head and kissed them, before moving down to press his lips into the valley between her breasts. His lips moved to one side and then across to the other, ghosting over her pale pink nipples that hardened from his attention and made her gasp,

“Again.”

Moving to lay between her legs, Noah supported his weight on both hands and lowered his head again to her breasts, this time using his tongue to trace circles around the sensitive peaks earning a moan of pleasure in response. His body responded in turn and he ground his hips against hers, his erection straining against his boxers. The friction of him against the lace of her panties made Jesse whimper. She opened her legs wider and ran her hands down his back to cup his backside and pull him tighter against her. Noah could feel dampness on his skin through the fabric his boxers and wasn’t sure if it was from him, her or a combination of both. He pulled away briefly, reaching toward his nightstand drawer for the box of condoms he’d bought upon returning from North Carolina. He promised his father they would be responsible and if he waited much longer, that part of his brain would not be functioning well enough to do so.

Removing one from the box, he held the corner of the foil square in his teeth and reached for Jesse’s underwear, which were pink and matched her bra. She thought he’d never looked more sexy with the condom packet in his mouth as he knelt between her legs to slide her panties down. She bent her knees to help get them off, then reached for his boxers. Removing them proved a less graceful maneuver and he ended up sitting down at her feet to pull them off, before kneeling between her legs once again. Jesse took the condom from him and tore open the packet. She wanted to put it on him, but he took it from her hand.

“Let me do it this time, Jess. If you touch me right now like that it could be over before it even starts,” he said with a laugh.

She nodded and watched as he unrolled the latex sheath over his hard length, making sure to pinch the tip to leave space. She’d unconsciously licked her lips as she watched, making him twitch in his hand. As soon as it was secure, he captured her mouth in a passionate kiss, pressing her into the mattress. Jesse opened her legs and squirmed against him as she felt his erection pressing against her folds, urging him to enter her. Her heart was pounding from a combination of nervousness and excitement. She’d had other opportunities to have sex before, but they never felt right. With Noah it was right and her eyes suddenly burned with unshed tears and she closed them so he wouldn’t see. Noah reached between their bodies. She was slick with arousal, which was good.

“Noah, please,” she whimpered, when his hands touched her. The ghost of his touch on her sent a jolt through her. She lifted her hips and pulled him down onto her more. She wanted him inside her. She wanted to know what it felt like.

“Okay, Jess,” he murmured, kissing her gently and taking himself in hand. “It’s not always like it is in books. Sometimes you need to line things up.”

Noah positioned the head of his erection at her entrance and slowly eased himself in. Initially she felt no discomfort; just a fullness that was not unpleasant. He watched her face for any indication he was hurting her. She was tight and warm and felt so good he wanted to thrust into her but didn’t want to be selfish with his own pleasure. Kissing her again deeply, he pushed further into her and she tilted her hips up to accept more. Suddenly she felt not so much pain but a burning sensation and gasped, her body tensing.

He pulled his lips from hers. “Jess?” She clutched at his back, took a breath and exhaled slowly, the sensation fading.

“I’m all right,” she whispered. “Don’t stop. I love you.”

Noah pulled out slightly and slowly thrust into her again. This time there was no burning sensation, just the pleasurable fullness. Jesse sighed and it morphed into a low moan.

“Again. Do-do that again.”

He did and she pulled his head back down to kiss him. “Like that,” she said against his lips, and Noah repeated the action, finding a gentle rhythm that soon had a tightness forming low in his belly.

“I’m not going to last much longer, _mi amor_ ,” he groaned as she ran her finger tips down his spine.

“It’s okay, Noh,” she whispered and he thrust deeply into her, shuddering as he came.

Noah buried his head in her neck, kissing her shoulder, before lifting his head and kissing her lips. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Jesse replied, pushing his sweaty curls away from his face. Then her stomach growled loudly and they both laughed.

“Hungry?” he asked.

“I haven’t eaten since breakfast,” she admitted.

“Let me get cleaned up and we’ll get you fed,” Noah told her. He held onto the condom and withdrew from her, rolling to a sitting position to remove, wrap in a tissue and toss it in the trash can. Standing, he pulled on a pair of lounge pants that were draped over his desk chair. He picked up the t-shirt he’d removed from Jesse and held it out to her. She pulled it over her head and slid off the bed to stand in front of him and put her arms around his waist, resting her head on his chest. He held her close, feeling suddenly emotional.

“You okay?” he said gently, kissing her temple. She nodded against his chest.

“I’m good. More than good. But hungry,” Jesse told him. “What do you have to eat?”

“Let’s go see.”

Noah made them grilled cheese sandwiches and they sat on the couch to eat, channel surfing for something to watch. But Noah was paying more attention to Jesse than the television and she noticed him looking at her.

“What? Do I have food on my face?”

“A crumb,” he reached over and thumbed it from the corner of her mouth. “But that’s not it. I was thinking, you didn’t -- uh -- finish.”

Jesse wiped her lips with a napkin and nodded.

“I don’t think I expected to. The first time and all. It - it was different. But nice.”

“Nice?” He teased. “Just nice?”

She smacked him on the arm. “Of course it was more than nice. But like you said, I didn’t finish.” Jesse grinned and shrugged.  “The earth didn’t move or anything.”

“You know you’ve just issued a challenge, Rollins, right?” Noah narrowed his blue eyes at her and hers sparkled back at him.

Jesse got up and went to the bathroom. She detoured to Noah’s room for another condom on the way back to the living area and tossed it onto his lap.

“Ready for round two, Barba?”

Their second time was much better than the first, both of them admitted years later, and it was a long time before they ever told Gable what they did on the couch that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again for reading along and indulging me in this endeavor. Maybe when SVU finally ends (never!) we will see a flash forward to grown up Noah and Jesse.

**Author's Note:**

> I already have more started about their week at the beach house. Not sure if it will be a second chapter or a stand alone second part.


End file.
